Hannah Wilke - Photographs New York Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | Phillips
  • Catalogue Essay

    As a key figure in feminist and performance art in the 1960s and 70s, Hannah Wilke used her body as a means of exploring themes of femininity, sexuality, power, and the broader discourse regarding the objectification of the female body. This photograph was one that Wilke and her partner, Donald Goddard, took at P.S.1 in Queens. Classifying them as performalist self-portraits, they show Wilke naked while moving throughout the abandoned school. The pictures were then used as a backdrop for performances she held in the venue, highlighting the layered approach to her practice as well as her unwavering commitment to deconstructing the gender prejudices rampant throughout society and cultural institutions, alike.

43

So Help Me Hannah, Performalist Self-Portrait with Donald Goddard

1978
Gelatin silver print.
12 7/8 x 8 3/4 in. (32.7 x 22.2 cm)
Signed, dated and numbered 20/20 in pencil on the verso.

Estimate
$15,000 - 25,000 

Sold for $16,380

Contact Specialist

Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com


Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
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Photographs

New York Auction 6 April 2022