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Tumors Personified
Alina Szapocznikow Polish
Not on view
Beginning in the early 1960s, the classically trained Szapocznikow explored the theme of the body in new industrial materials, such as polyester resin and glass wool. Tumors Personified is an autobiographical work created after the artist was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1969. Each amorphous tumor appears to grow from the gravel and includes a self-portrait. Szapocznikow chose to personify the tumors to show how the illness had taken over her identity. These formless growths owe much to the history of the non finito aesthetic in sculpture, particularly as practiced by Medardo Rosso and Auguste Rodin.
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