Rome Works — Catherine Wagner

Rome Works — Catherine Wagner

Rome Works

2014

Rome Works investigates and interprets the history of culture. The photographs include sculptural masterpieces both within and outside of museum archives. Although rooted in antiquity each image is embedded with some form of marker that creates a collision in time.

The process of conservation, the physical moving of an artifact, or the recreation of a figure from isolated fragments - serve to disrupt the historical iconography allowing for a more contemporary reading. The images often focus on overlooked details, illuminating unwritten histories. Emanating from great works of art, the photographs reframe banal gestures and moments held within statuary, thus creating new paradigmatic narratives exclusive of historical understandings.

The marble constructions create abstracted cultural landscapes referencing the materials used in the building of Rome. Inverted Capital engages with spatial and scale perceptions that confound our understanding of architecture and history. The bust typologies are now stripped of their facial identities. The photograph presents abstracted evidence of the tactile materiality of their garments. Why is it that the iconic busts of men are all annotated with their names while the busts of women are simply annotated by gender? The four shadows behind the headless young boy, the electric blue nylon-strap harnesses Artemis/Diana and suspends her in a blue armature constructed from modern technology, the Bernini Angel Encased in glass framework, these photographs overturn conventional views from their historical origins.

Bound to history yet freed by re-contextualization, Rome Works supports the possibility of reading new narratives created through re-representation.

Rome Works

Rome Works

Artemis/Diana

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Angel Encased (Bernini)

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Constantine Fragments

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Boy with Four Shadows

37 1/2 in. × 50 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Fragments Femminile

23 in. × 50 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

The Dying Gaul

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Sala degli Imperatori

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Sala dei Filosofi

50 in. × 37 1/2 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Inverted Capital

40 1/4 in. × 30 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Marble Construct I

24 in. × 18 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Marble Construct II

24 in. × 18 in. Archival pigment print. 2014.

Rome Works

Bust Typology (Male)

24 in. × 20 in. each. 6 piece typology. Archival pigment prints with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Geta

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Lvcio Vero

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Marco Avrelio

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Menandro

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Demosthenes

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Paride

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Bust Typology (Female)

24 in. × 20 in. each. 6 piece typology. Archival pigment prints with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Busto Femminile I

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Busto Femminile II

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Faustina Minore

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Ritratto Feminile I

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Ritratto Femminile II

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.

Rome Works

Ritratto Femminile III

24 in. × 20 in. Archival pigment print with gold leaf. 2014.