Accession Number
1992/1.132

Title
Martha Graham—Lamentation

Artist(s)
Barbara Morgan

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1935

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
15 7/8 in x 19 7/8 in (40.3 cm x 50.5 cm);22 3/16 in x 28 1/4 in (56.36 cm x 71.76 cm);15 15/16 in x 19 15/16 in (40.5 cm x 50.7 cm);13 9/16 in x 18 in (34.5 cm x 45.7 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Frances U. and Scott K. Simonds

Subject matter
Barbara Morgan moved from California to New York City in 1930. She began photographing Martha Graham in 1935 after seeing her perform, immediately introducing herself and beginning a collaboration. Morgan photographed Graham and her company in her studio, giving her more control over the images she produced. Themes in her work included dance, capturing gesture, and depicting crucial moments in sequences of movement. This photograph combines two negatives to form a composite print. The photographs are from Martha Graham's performance of Lamentation, a modern dance choreographed to Zoltán Kodály's 1910 Piano Piece, Op. 3, No. 2.

Physical Description
A composite print from two negatives, each representing a moment from a dance performance. The woman wears a large cloth, which she manipulates with her motions to create forms and shapes.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Figures
Surrealism
abstraction
composite photographs
costume (mode of fashion)
dance (discipline)
dancers
dances (performance events)
drapery
modern and contemporary art
movement (compositional concept)