
Self-Portrait, Pivotal Motion from Chin, Large
<p>This work is part of a series of tightly controlled experiments in self-portraiture in which Blythe Bohnen embraced mechanical limitations in photography to create a shadowy, kinetic depiction of herself. Bohnen recorded repetitive head movements in a single image using multi-second shutter exposures. Here she shakes her head from side to side, distorting her face beyond recognition. Bohnen wrote, “I am interested in the forms that result from the kinesthetic reaction to a given situation. Similar motions in different media are translated into a variety of forms.” In this work, movement and photography join together to create a new form: an image that both is and isn’t a self-portrait.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1974
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 38 × 47.9 cm (15 × 18 7/8 in.); Paper: 40.5 × 50.4 cm (16 × 19 7/8 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Blythe Bohnen
Artist

Drawing
Blythe Bohnen was an American artist active in the postwar period.
Full artist profile →More
More by Blythe Bohnen
Self Portrait
1984 · Gelatin silver print
Self-Portrait, Vertical Motion Up, Medium
1983 · Gelatin silver print
Self-Portrait, Vertical Motion Up, Medium; Pivotal Motion, Large
1983 · Gelatin silver print
Self-Portrait, Horizontal Elliptical Motion, Small
1983 · Gelatin silver print
Motion Touching Five Points
1975 · Graphite on white wove paper
Self-Portrait, Vertical Motion Down, Medium
1974 · Gelatin silver print
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Blythe Bohnen
- Year
- 1974
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 38 × 47.9 cm (15 × 18 7/8 in.); Paper: 40.5 × 50.4 cm (16 × 19 7/8 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1974-116228
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





