Untitled (The Nature of Work)
Delving into personal and public archives, Hewitt assembles found photographs, library books, magazines, and paper ephemera into sculptural still lifes, which she then photographs. She cites Sherrie Levine as an influence, but unlike earlier generations of appropriation artists, Hewitt often keeps her sources to herself, withholding critical context. Here, the spines of stacked books are turned toward the wall, their authors uncredited and titles concealed. Perched atop them, a piece of plywood leans against the studio wall, seeming to hide some unknown object. As it leans against Hewitt’s wall, so too does the printed photograph lean within its congruent plywood frame. This, in turn, leans against the gallery wall, collapsing the spaces of creation and display.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled (The Nature of Work)
- Artist: Leslie Hewitt (American, born 1977)
- Date: 2019
- Medium: Chromogenic print
- Dimensions: 52 3/8 × 62 3/16 × 7 1/16 in. (133 × 158 × 17.9 cm)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Twentieth-Century Photography Fund, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.140a, b
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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