The Secret
Cecilia Paredes, Peruvian, born 1950
2018
Inkjet print
Edition 3/7 plus 3 AP
Overall: 55 × 33 in. (139.7 × 83.8 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Mrs. Harvey P. Hood W'18 Fund and the Sondra and Charles Gilman Jr., Foundation Fund
2021.12
Geography
Place Made: Peru, South America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Photograph
Research Area
Photograph
Not on view
Label
Centered in the photograph’s composition, the artist wears a garment and body paint that blend her figure into the setting. Holding her hands before her face to hide any features or expression, she all but disappears into this highly ornate and feminine space. Thus camouflaged, Paredes asks how our identities are intrinsically connected to the environments we occupy. We have little information about this setting, in fact; no furniture or props add context, taking away the chance to know but providing many opportunities to imagine. Paredes’s photographs in this series document performances of her creating floral settings that she then melds into, her presence becoming a part of the decorative space.
From the 2024 exhibition An Instant Out of Time: Shaping a Collection, curated by Alisa Swindell, Associate Curator of Photography
Course History
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
Art History 40.03, Latin American and Caribbean Studies 20.11, Art and Politics in Latin America, Mary Coffey, Fall 2023
Art History 40.03, Latin American and Caribbean Studies 20.11, Art and Politics in Latin America, Mary Coffey - OPEN HOURS, Fall 2023
Art History 40.03, Latin American and Caribbean Studies 20.11, Art and Politics in Latin America, Mary Coffey - OPEN HOURS, Fall 2023
Writing 5.32, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2024
Writing 5.33, Photographic Representations, Amanda Wetsel, Winter 2024
Art History 48.02, Histories of Photography, Katie Hornstein, Spring 2024
African and African American Studies 63.01, Sociology 71.01, Race Matters: Race Made to Matter, Trica Keaton, Spring 2024
Music 18.03, African and African American Studies 39.07, Verzuz: A History of Black Popular Music, Allie Martin, Spring 2024
Exhibition History
An Instant Out of Time: Shaping a Collection, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 20-July 21, 2024.
Provenance
Ruiz-Healy Art, New York, New York; sold to present collection, 2021.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu