The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 1, 2026

The picture is still • video

2001
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

While best known for large-scale ephemeral installations, Ann Hamilton has used photography and video throughout her four-decade career.

Description

This video work, the picture is still • video, represents the first time that Ann Hamilton sought to animate a still photograph. Holding a single-chip surveillance camera in one hand, Hamilton slowly moved it over the surface of a black-and-white photograph of her son, “almost caressing the image, as if touching or probing its flat surface to yield something more bodily.” An important aspect of this work is the use of motion, or gesture or touch, to “see” and interpret a still image.
  • Ann Hamilton: still and moving • the tactile image. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 14, 2025-April 19, 2026).
  • {{cite web|title=the picture is still • video|url=false|author=Ann Hamilton|year=2001|access-date=01 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.190