Littoral Drift #3 (Rodeo Beach, CA)

Artist Meghann Riepenhoff (American, born 1979)

DateJune 13, 2013

Mediumvariable cyanotype diptych on wove paper

Dimensionsoverall diptych: 35.3 × 56 cm (13 7/8 × 22 1/16 in.)
each sheet: 35.3 × 27.7 cm (13 7/8 × 10 7/8 in.)

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineDouglas Cox and Edward Osowsk Fund in memory of Robert A. Royka (1933–1996) and in honor of Margaret Kent Royka

Object number2015.44

Label TextSir John Herschel, an English mathematician, astronomer, and chemist, invented one of the earliest photographic processes, the cyanotype, in 1842. Cyanotypes are unique analog photographs because they can be developed outside a darkroom. Their distinctive Prussian blue tones are achieved by coating paper with an iron-salt solution, exposing it to ultraviolet light, and then rinsing the paper in water. Riepenhoff’s abstract, undulating forms encourage viewers to reconsider what constitutes a landscape photograph. The term “littoral drift” refers to the power of ocean currents to move sediment and sand across the shore. Riepenhoff embraces this force of nature, calling the ocean a collaborator in her practice. Holding paper prepared with cyanotype solution on both sides, she waits at the water’s edge for the salt and sediment of an ocean wave to leave its mark. Although Littoral Drift is not a faithful illusion of a seascape, it is a trace of the sea.

On View

Not on view