From "We've Always Been Close"; "Needs and Acts"
Maker
Higgins, Gary
Date1995
MediumChromogenic development print
Dimensionsimage/paper: 10 in x 8 in; mat: 20 in x 16 in
Credit LineGift of the artist
Object number1997:198
About the ArtistIn the series Needs and Acts, completed between 1990 and 1994, Gary Higgins creates photomontages that deal with contemporary views of the body and notions of mortality. Combining X-rays, pages from medical textbooks, and other found media, Higgins then partially burns the materials before photographing the results. The cool, analytical scrutiny of the body in the various medical sources is offset by the emotionally charged processes of physical destruction, which introduce an element of vulnerability. Higgins completed a BFA cum laude in photography at University of Connecticut, Storrs (1986) and his MFA in Photography at Arizona State University (1992).