Guilty, 1950

Artist Stan Douglas (Canadian, born 1960)

Date2013

MediumDigital fiber print mounted on Dibond Edition 22/25

DimensionsImage: 24 × 18 inches (61 × 45.7 cm);
Support: 34 1/2 × 28 inches (87.6 × 71.1 cm);
Frame: 35 3/8 × 28 7/8 inches (89.9 × 73.3 cm)

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineAcquired through the generosity of George M. Garfunkel, Class of 1960, and Sandra Garfunkel

Terms

Photographs
Canadian

Object number2016.004

Label CopyInfluenced by the photojournalism of World War II, Stan Douglas is interested in the control a photographer has over his final product. Inspired by artists such as Weegee, Douglas is intrigued by how the camera interacts with its subjects, both revealing and obscuring information through connotative visual cues. In Guilty, 1950, Douglas implies an episodic series of events within a single image. The work’s title furthers the narrative by inviting many associations and blurring the line between record and reality. Who is guilty in this photograph—and why? Does the guilt belong to the subject shielding his face? Or does it refer back to the photographer snapping this seemingly private moment of his subjects? In its ambiguity, Guilty invokes a curiosity within viewers and challenges us to reconsider the concept of truth behind the photographic medium. ("15 Minutes: Exposing Dimensions of Fame," curated by undergraduate members of Cornell's History of Art Major's Society and presented at the Johnson Museum April 16 - July 24, 2016)

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