Two Explanations for a Small Split Pond

Robert CummingWW-1974-110376

1974·Gelatin silver prints (2)·Each image: 19.5 × 24.5 cm (7 11/16 × 9 11/16 in.); Each paper: 19.9 × 25 cm (7 7/8 × 9 7/8 in.); Mount: 50.8 × 76.3 cm (20 × 30 1/16 in.)

<p>Robert Cumming has long been known for his conceptual photography, which often relies on the tension between reality and the perception of reality. Cumming’s art presents succinct, humorous reminders about what can be understood from a photograph. For example, in <em>Two Explanations for a Small Split Pond</em>, Cumming juxtaposes two pictures that offer different possible causes for the split pond they depict. In the first, the pond has been split down the middle by the addition of earth to the water. In the second, two distinct ponds have been created by splitting a bucket of water in half.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1974
Medium: Gelatin silver prints (2)
Dimensions: Each image: 19.5 × 24.5 cm (7 11/16 × 9 11/16 in.); Each paper: 19.9 × 25 cm (7 7/8 × 9 7/8 in.); Mount: 50.8 × 76.3 cm (20 × 30 1/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Robert Cumming

Artist

Robert Cumming

Printmaking

Robert Cumming was an American artist working primarily in photography and conceptual practice from the 1970s onward. His work engaged with systems of representation, perception, and the constructed nature of photographic evidence, often employing staged scenarios and visual paradoxes to interrogate how images communicate meaning.

Worcester, MA, USA

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