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Toy Blocks

Abelardo Morell (American (born in Cuba, 1948))
negative 1987, printed 1992

Medium/Technique Photograph, gelatin silver print
Dimensions Sheet: 60.7 x 50.4 cm (23 7/8 x 19 13/16 in.)
Credit Line Abbott Lawrence Fund
Accession Number1993.17
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsPhotographs
After an early career as a street photographer in the tradition of Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Abelardo Morell changed direction in 1986 with the birth of his son. He began to photograph his domestic environment from new and surprising perspectives. Toys and household objects, photographed from a child's eye level, take on new meanings as the distorted sense of scale transforms a familiar reality. From a floor-level viewpoint, this tower of nesting blocks looms as large as a skyscraper, and its illustrated surfaces seem to represent an intimidating mountain of knowledge to be absorbed. The shadow cast by the blocks, the glaring light, and the large size of the print itself contribute to the idea of a daunting task ahead.

InscriptionsVerso, graphite, l. l.: Abelardo Morell; Verso, graphite, l. r.: Toy Blocks, 1987.
ProvenanceArtist, purchased January 1993.
Copyright© Abelardo Morell/Courtesy Bonni Benrubi Gallery, NYC