|
An American in Rome
(2007) video projection, varying length.
"While I was thinking about my own death when creating “Memorial To A Marriage” a 3-ton marble mortuary statue, I found someone else’s life. Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908) moved to Rome in 1852 when she was 22 years old, apprenticed with the leading Neo-classical sculptor, British artist John Gibson, and very quickly hung out her own shingle and became known as the first professional woman sculptor. Hosmer lived within a lively Anglo-American expatriate community of writers and artists, as well as a circle of “independent women.” In her time, she had a prominent career; critically acclaimed, financially successful, exhibiting in all the international exhibitions, much like our biennales now. She was infamous. Today, her works are in the collections of the world’s best museums and yet she is largely unknown.
Who gets written into history? Who is forgotten? Why, how and what are the conditions under which eradication can occur? These are some of the questions my “Harriet Hosmer Catalogue Raisonne” asks. Unfortunately, I have few answers, only more questions. "
-Patricia Cronin
|
