The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

New York City

New York City

1964
(American, 1928–1984)
Image: 33.9 x 22.9 cm (13 3/8 x 9 in.); Paper: 35.3 x 27.9 cm (13 7/8 x 11 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

After separating from his wife, Garry Winogrand began spending many hours with his children at the Central Park Zoo, an environment in which he recognized the potential for social commentary. Rather than adopting the traditional style of zoo photography—which generally avoided depicting the bars, cages, and containers in which the animals are housed—Winogrand focused on the physically divided realms of the urban human audience and the wildlife on display. In this image, zoo visitors are absorbed by a blubbery walrus; the walrus, however, appears to gaze directly into Winogrand’s camera. New York City stages a comedic dialogue between the walrus and the viewer, satirizing the strange relationship between these species.
  • Elizabeth and Frederick Myers
    January 21, 1985
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 394
  • Main gallery rotation (gallery 229A): October 19, 2015 - April 11, 2016.
    Trophies of the Hunt: Capturing Nature as Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 24-November 3, 2004).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 7/24/04 - 11/3/04. "Trophies of the Hunt: Capturing Nature as Art". No exhibition catalogue.
  • {{cite web|title=New York City|url=false|author=Garry Winogrand, Hyperion Press Ltd.|year=1964|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.195.7