City Whispers
Artist: Ray Krueger Metzker (American, 1931 - 2014)
Date: 1981
Dimensions:
Overall: 8 x 9 15/16 in. (20.3 x 25.2 cm)
Medium: silver print
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor
Object number: 1984.13
Label Text:
Trained at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Ray Metzker is considered to be a formalist. Formalism is the concept that a work of art’s artistic value is derived entirely by its form. In a formalist work everything necessary to understanding the art is present. Color, line, shape, and texture are the dominate elements; while realism, context, and content are secondary, and ultimately, non-essential.
Metzker’s gelatin-silver prints expressively isolate the unique formal aspects of the black and white medium. In City Whispers, Metzker has accentuated the strong black and white contrasts. While the title suggests a place and context, the space and content of the image are ambiguous. The city, one of Metzker’s favorite subjects, becomes a conundrum or visual puzzle of form, light, and shadow.
Trained at the Institute of Design in Chicago, Ray Metzker is considered to be a formalist. Formalism is the concept that a work of art’s artistic value is derived entirely by its form. In a formalist work everything necessary to understanding the art is present. Color, line, shape, and texture are the dominate elements; while realism, context, and content are secondary, and ultimately, non-essential.
Metzker’s gelatin-silver prints expressively isolate the unique formal aspects of the black and white medium. In City Whispers, Metzker has accentuated the strong black and white contrasts. While the title suggests a place and context, the space and content of the image are ambiguous. The city, one of Metzker’s favorite subjects, becomes a conundrum or visual puzzle of form, light, and shadow.
Not on view
In Collection(s)