Untitled, Providence, Rhode Island
- Artist: Francesca Woodman
- Date: 1975–6
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper on ink on paper
- Dimensions: image: 109 x 109 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the Untitled, Providence, Rhode Island by Francesca Woodman. It’s a tiny black‑and‑white gelatin silver print, about a foot on each side, shot from above. The image shows the artist crouched on a flat mirror, a dark‑framed rectangle lying on the floor. She’s on all fours, her head framed by a little woven rug on the left, her back arched toward the upper right. The mirror’s surface catches a reflection of her chest, hinting at the intimacy of the gesture. The whole scene feels almost like a private note, and indeed below the photo, in red ink, Woodman wrote “See you Sunday Bow Wow love Spot.” That was a gift for her boyfriend, a playful message that hints at affection and a flirtatious side of her work. The photograph was taken while she was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, a period when she used herself as subject to explore identity and the gaze. Its small scale and candid composition keep the viewer feeling close, as if peeking into a personal moment.
See it in person
Untitled, Providence, Rhode Island is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
