Contamination 138/139
Artist
Arnaud Maggs
(Canadian, 1926 - 2012)
Date2007
Mediumdigital print on aluminum
DimensionsOverall: 83 × 104 cm (32 11/16 × 40 15/16 in.)
Frame: 83.8 × 104.1 × 4.8 cm (33 × 41 × 1 7/8 in.)
Frame: 83.8 × 104.1 × 4.8 cm (33 × 41 × 1 7/8 in.)
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program 2011.
Object number2011.7.1
Classificationsphotograph
On View
Not on viewContamination consists of larger-than-life photographs of a ledger that recorded the modest financial transactions of a prospector in the Yukon Gold Rush, circa 1905. The subtle patterns of stains suggest bodily associations, yet any documentary and narrative details are withheld. The series is comprised of 16 photographs which show water stains and the migration of mold on otherwise empty pages. Contamination operates as an elegy to dreams of success, adventure, and unfulfilled promise.
Arnaud Maggs is known for his serial photographs of faces and collections of miscellany in grid formations. These works create a poignant portrait of life’s traces, even when they lack the image of a person. With a fascination for systems of classification and historical documents, Maggs reveals the profound distance between symbols and what they are meant to represent.
Arnaud Maggs is known for his serial photographs of faces and collections of miscellany in grid formations. These works create a poignant portrait of life’s traces, even when they lack the image of a person. With a fascination for systems of classification and historical documents, Maggs reveals the profound distance between symbols and what they are meant to represent.
