The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 30, 2026

A horizontally oriented triptych of black-and-white gelatin silver prints depicts a shirtless figure from the shoulders up. In the left panel, the head faces forward with soft, blurred features. The center panel contains horizontal smears of overlapping features as the head turns toward our right. In the right panel, the face dissolves into dark, indistinct horizontal streaks, illustrating a progression of movement and increasing motion blur against the pale background.

Self-Portrait: Pivotal Motion

1983

Blythe Bohnen

(American, 1940-)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 38 x 47.9 cm (14 15/16 x 18 7/8 in.); Paper: 40.4 x 50.3 cm (15 7/8 x 19 13/16 in.)
Gift of Herbert and Paula Molner 1992.217
Location: Not on view
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (February 1993): 38–79. Mentioned: p. 68 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 99
  • Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Self-Portrait: Pivotal Motion|url=false|author=Blythe Bohnen|year=1983|access-date=30 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.217