Great Leveler (from Vanitas)

Photograph

-

Calvin University Center Art Gallery

The image depicts a still life arrangement featuring a human skull set on a dark, marbled surface. Beside it, a vase holds two vividly colored flowers, one white and one orange, wilting slightly. A blue butterfly flutters nearby, creating a contrast between life and death.

The image depicts a still life arrangement featuring a human skull set on a dark, marbled surface. Beside it, a vase holds two vividly colored flowers, one white and one orange, wilting slightly. A blue butterfly flutters nearby, creating a contrast between life and death.

Name/Title

Great Leveler (from Vanitas)

Entry/Object ID

2016.9.1

Photograph Details

Type of Photograph

diasec mounted C-type

Category

Interior Space, Plants and Nature, Vault
Building, Architecture

Made/Created

Artist

Alexander James

Date made

2010

Dimensions

Dimension Description

image size

Height

7-1/2 in

Width

9-7/8 in

Dimension Description

frame size

Height

19 in

Width

22 in

Depth

1-3/16 in

Exhibitions

Permanent Collection: : Center Art Gallery - March 15 - April 29, 2017
Permanent Collection: Center Art Gallery - July 21, 2017 - July 10, 2018
Loan - Spaan Collection @ Dordt College Sioux Center, IA
Loan - Spaan Collection @ 2nd CRC Grand Haven, MI: January 8 - March 22, 2020
Spaan and PC: Center Art Gallery - February 15 - April 8, 2022
Permanent Collection responses to Jennifer Steensma Hoag's Sabbatical exhibition - November 29, 2022 - January 27, 2023
Spaan Collection: Center Art Gallery - August 27 - November 29, 2024
Donna Spaan Memorial Service: Raybrook Chapel - September 28, 2025

General Notes

Note Type

Wall Label

Note

Expanded Wall Label: In his series, Vanitas, Alexander James re-visits the works of the 17th century Dutch Masters using period props, flowers and real butterflies that he bred himself. The theme of Vanitas is further explored through the introduction of water. Acting as both nurturer and destroyer, water has the power to cleanse and reinvent, or to drown and disappear. James uses water’s transient and destructive nature to expose the fragility of life and the temporary nature of our existence. Each carefully staged underwater scene is captured in-camera without the use of post-production techniques, either traditional or digital. James considers his work as much sculptural as it is photographic – each piece is built in his studio before it is submerged into black, velvet-lined tanks filled with highly purified water. James works with subtle distortions of light and movement from the waters own wave energy to create a unique and painterly effect. The subjects appear to be floating in a black space that neither interferes nor disrupts the subject matter and the collaboration within this void offers a serene and dreamlike sensation.