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Label TextFungus, Ipswich, Massachusetts hones in on the delicate, ribbed underside of an umbrella-shaped wide, white mushroom. Both the location and the surroundings of this fungus, however, are entirely nebulous, even abstract. Photographer Paul Caponigro often captured the natural world with techniques such as double exposure or backlighting that heightened aspects of mystery or surreality. “The black and white pulls it just far enough away from the literal, so-called real world, to begin to inject a little more emotion or psychological activity,” the artist explained.
DimensionsBoard: 22 x 18 in. (55.9 x 45.7 cm)
Image: 13 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (34 x 26.7 cm)
Accession Number 2025.31
Classificationsphotograph
SignedPaul Caponigro (in board l,r, graphite)
ProvenanceArtist. (Douglas Kenyon, Inc., Chicago, IL). Jack and Diane Robertson, Grinnell, IA; Des Moines Art Center [gift from the previous, 2025]
Fungus, Ipswich, Massachusetts
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Harry Callahan
ca. 1971, printed 1980-1981
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Winslow Homer
April 23, 1859
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Winslow Homer
September 12, 1874