Untitled (from the Perth Amboy series)
On the first two Sundays of last October, Harrison staked out an unassuming frame house in Perth Amboy, New Jersey that had recently become the focus of worldwide attention. Thousands of Christians were flocking to see what they believed to be the visage of the Virgin Mary on a second floor window; visitors were occasionally allowed into the house to touch the pane. On the first Sunday, the window was open, and she photographed the faithful as they held Bibles, snapshots of the departed, and other mementos to its surface-praying, weeping, or deep in contemplation. The next week, the window was closed and the artist made pictures of the accumulation of fingerprints on the glass-traces of faith left by the believers. Just as Gauguin painted his Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel) as a testament of belief in his medium's spiritual and communicative potential in the encroaching era of mechanical reproduction, Harrison's Perth Amboy is in part an allegory of photography-with the vague face of the Virgin materializing as if on a glass plate negative-as it faces its digital successor.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled (from the Perth Amboy series)
- Artist: Rachel Harrison (American, born 1966)
- Date: 2000
- Medium: Chromogenic print
- Dimensions: 36 x 50.4cm (14 3/16 x 19 13/16 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Purchase, Charina Foundation Inc. Gift, 2001
- Object Number: 2001.683
- Rights and Reproduction: © Rachel Harrison
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Rachel Harrison
2002
Rachel Harrison
2012
Rachel Harrison
2000
Man Ray
1920
Richard Prince
1989
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.