The Norton Museum’s exhibition of work by Tacita Dean focuses exclusively on “photo-based” artworks that have been produced during the past two decades. Born in Canterbury, England in 1965, and currently based in Berlin, Dean initially studied to be painter. Now, much of her artistic practice is defined by the 16 mm film camera, with the still camera image also playing a significant role in her career. Spare, sublime, and separated from conventional photographic practice, Dean’s photo-based works are nonetheless dependent upon the found and often authorless image. It is this two-fold impression of time and place embracing fact and fiction that pervades Dean’s work in the Museum's exhibition. With paint, drawings, or hand-written text added to these images, Dean distances herself from conventional photography while embracing the photographic image. The end result, like her films, is artwork that is as elusive as it is captivating.
Organized by the Norton Museum of Art. This exhibition is made possible in part through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Korman and The William and Sarah Ross Soter Photography Endowment.