The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 23, 2023

Photo Eye

1927

Anton Stankowski

(German, 1906–1998)

Germany, 20th century

Gelatin silver print, montage, from negatives with handwork

Image: 10.9 x 14.5 cm (4 5/16 x 5 11/16 in.); Mounted: 35.6 x 31.9 cm (14 x 12 9/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 2007.122

© Stankowski-Stiftung

Location

not on view

Description

Photo Eye pays homage to Stankowski’s teacher, photographer and graphic designer Max Burchartz, by appropriating a section of Burchartz’s most famous photograph, a portrait of his wife. Staring up at his wife’s eye is Burchartz himself, from a photo taken by Stankowski. Joining the two and creating an intense link between them is a dark area that contains an image of Burchartz’s hairline, taken from another Stankowski photo.

Inscriptions

Inscription

by the artist in pencil on top edge: ‘A. Stankowski,’ and, in blue ink (same hand) "1100/a."

Provenance
(Prakapas Gallery, New York, NY)
Thomas Walther, Berlin
(Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, NY)
Chester Dentan, Seattle, WA
David Raymond [b.1979], New York, NY
2007-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E. Hinson, Ian Walker, and Lisa Kurzner. Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography : the David Raymond Collection in the Cleveland Museum of Art. 2014. Mentioned: p. 61; reproduced: p. 63; reproduced and mentioned: p. 235.
Hinson, Tom E., "Photo Surrealism", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 48 no. 3, March 2008 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
Exhibition history

Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 19, 2014-January 11, 2015).

Beyond Truth: Photography after the Shutter. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2019).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2007.122