Simon Starling
‘Pictures for an Exhibition’

Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #3 of 36 Constantin Brancusi, Torso of a Young Woman (1918).
2013
36 framed gelatin silver prints
115 x 90 cm each
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #3 of 36 Constantin Brancusi, Torso of a Young Woman (1918).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #1 of 36 Modified Deardorff 8 x10 Field Camera
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #2 of 36 Constantin Brancusi, Socrates (1922), Mademoiselle Pogany II (1920), Torso of a Young Man I (1917–22), Three Penguins (1911–12), Newborn I (1915), Golden Bird (1919-20), Fish (1922), Endless Column (1918), Bird in Space (1926), Prometheus (1911), Beginning of the World (c. 1920), The Chief (1924–25), Torso of a Young Woman (1918), The Kiss (1916), Oak Base (1920), Chimera (1915–18), Maiastra (1910–12), Princess X (1915), Adam & Eve (1916–21) (left to right).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #15 of 36 Christopher Williams, Main Staircase for the Arts Club Chicago,1948–51 Steel, travertine marble 359.4 x 458.8 x 609.3 cm; 141 . x 180 5/8 x 239 7/8 inches Arts Club commission 1948–1951 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 109 East Ontario Street, Chicago, Illinois, 1951–1995 Repositioned by John Vinci, 210 East Ontario Street, Chicago, Illinois, October 1, 1998, 1998, in the storeroom of the Art Institute of Chicago.
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #19 Constantin Brancusi, Mademoiselle Pogany II (1920), Endless Column (1918), Princess X (1915) (from left to right).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #23 Modified Deardorff 8 x 10 Field Camera photographing Constantin Brancusi, The Kiss (1916).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #25 Seagram Building, New York (1958).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014, #27 Constantin Brancusi, Bird in Space (1926) and The Chief (1924-25) (left to right).
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014. Installation view 'Pictures for an Exhibition', The Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, 2014.
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014. Installation view 'Metamorphology', Musée d'art contemporain, Montréal, 2015.
  • Simon Starling, Pictures for an Exhibition, 2013-2014. Installation view 'Metamorphology', Musée d'art contemporain, Montréal, 2015.
    Array

In Pictures for an Exhibition, Simon Starling charts both a history and a network. Addressing two vintage installation photographs of an exhibition of works by Constantin Brancusi, which was held at The Arts Club of Chicago in 1927, Starling traces the pathways of the nineteen sculptures visible in these images from the moment of the exhibition until today. His journeys were both geographic– he covered over a dozen cities, visiting libraries and archives, as well as twelve different private collections and public institutions that currently house the Brancusi sculptures–and archival–he intensively researched the provenance of each sculpture and recorded the resulting stories in this volume. The gelatin silver prints on view at The Arts Club were made with two 8 x inch Deardorff plate cameras, the same Chicago built brand that was used for the original installation photographs of the 1927 exhibition.

Janine Mileaf, Director of The Arts Club, Chicago, 2014