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Arm and Ventilator, New York

André Kertész

Artwork Details

Arm and Ventilator, New York
1937
André Kertész
gelatin silver print on paper
7 5/8 in x 9 1/16 in (19.37 cm x 23.02 cm)
Gift of Maxine and Lawrence K. Snider
2013/2.296

Description

Subject Matter:

In this enigmatic photograph, André Kertész depicts a man's arm reaching through the circular partition of a ventilator fan. The arm's owner is barely visible, leaving his appendage, pinned between the blades of the fan, as the central axis of a bizarre still life. Kertész encountered this strange sight at a drugstore on Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street in Greenwich Village, New York, and cropped the image to heighten its mystery and latent violence.

Physical Description:

This image represents a wooden planked wall with a circular metal fan cut into it. A man's arm reaches out from the opposite side of the wall through the fan (that is not turning). His sleeve is rolled up past his elbow.

Usage Rights:

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