Landscape / Loftscape #14 (Self-Portrait)

Date1976

Artist Marcia Resnick (American, 1950-2025)

CultureAmerican

MediumGelatin silver print; diptych

EditionEdition 4 of 7 Edition of 7

DimensionsEach: 8 x 11 3/4 in. (20.3 x 29.8 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, gift of Mrs. Frederick Ferris Thompson, by exchange

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

Photograph

BibliographyGoodyear (III), Frank H., Lisa Hostetler, Casey Riley. Marcia Resnick: As it is Or Could be. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press, 2022, pl. 24, pp.104-105 Resnick, Marcia. “Landscape/Loftspace.” The Paris Review, Fall 1977ProvenanceThe Cronin Gallery, Houston (1978);
Philips, New York, Sale NY040122, Photographs, April 6, 2022, lot 44;

Vassar Exhibitions

The Authentic Self: Photography and Portraits

Label TextMarcia Resnick, through her diverse and probing conceptual photography, became a crucial figure in the downtown scene of New York City in the 1970s and 80s. Often using her camera to question the relationship between reality and representation, Resnick discarded many preconceived notions of what photography was expected to do. In her 1976 series Landscape / Loftscape, Resnick confronts the assumption that photographs can be relied upon as autonomous sources of information. In each work, she presents two images with seemingly identical compositions side-by-side. Only after closer observation, one may notice differences – the top image was taken in a real-world setting, while the image below was created in the artist’s studio. The studio image, crafted with an array of everyday objects, imitates the real-world picture; in the case of Landscape / Loftscape #14, she uses miniature toy cars against a dark backdrop to mimic a drive-in theater. By fooling our eye at first glance, Resnick displays how photographs should not be viewed as unmanipulated documents of the real world, but instead can be more broadly recognized for their malleable and creative potential. Emma Larson, ’25

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email loebcollections@vassar.edu