Hands Framing New York Harbor

John Baldessari American
Harry Shunk German
János (Jean) Kender Hungarian

Not on view

In 1971, the curator and publisher Willoughby Sharp commissioned twenty-seven artists to create performance works on Pier 18, a decrepit waterfront site in Lower Manhattan. Because the location could not accommodate viewers, the artists’ actions were communicated only through photographs made by Harry Shunk and Janos Kender. Baldessari’s witty performance entailed inserting his hand between himself and the camera lens—a swift yet resonant gesture capturing how we frame the visual field outside of an art context.

Hands Framing New York Harbor, John Baldessari (American, National City, California 1931–2020 Los Angeles), Gelatin silver print

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.