97
Francesca Woodman
Nuvola Mediocre
1977-1978
Gelatin silver print.
Image: 8.4 x 7.6 cm (3 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)
Sheet: 23.8 x 18 cm (9 3/8 x 7 1/8 in.)
Sheet: 23.8 x 18 cm (9 3/8 x 7 1/8 in.)
Inscribed in ink in the margin.
Full-Cataloguing
The title is taken from the dedication to Giuseppe Casetti, the owner of the Maldoror bookshop in Rome, which is written in pen on the front of the print. Casetti used to refer to Francesca Woodman as ‘cloud’ to which she added the word ‘mediocre'. On the back of the photograph near the bottom edge is her lipstick kiss, shown above, which is how she signed many of her personally dedicated works. Woodman hung this photograph on the door handle of the Maldoror bookshop.
Francesca Woodman
American | B. 1958 D. 1981During her brief 22 years, Francesca Woodman created an extraordinary body of work, exploring gender, selfhood and the body in relation to its surroundings. Woodman often experimented with a slow shutter speed, which slightly blurred and distorted her body as it moved throughout the exposure, creating a haunting, almost ghost-like effect. Her ethereal presence draws our attention to traditional depictions of the body, forms of portraiture and self-portraiture, illuminating the desire for self-preservation against the passing of time.