Catherine Wagner

Home and Other Stories

1992

This series arose from questions of how people define themselves in relation to their homes. The triptych format allows for a narrative/filmic structure to explore the idea of home. This is revealed through individual shrines, collections, furniture, decoration, and personal artifacts, providing a rare window into private lives. In this work, the home is used as a model to explore issues revolving around family, domesticity, isolation, privacy, comfort and refuge, as well as recurring themes of memory.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA) INSTALLATION

The photographic triptychs were illuminated in an otherwise darkened gallery, creating the illusion of intimacy. This effect also alluded to the experience of looking at a television set in a darkened living room or peering through strangers’ windows in the gathering dusk.

MILLS COLLEGE ART MUSEUM INSTALLATION

Working with someone who names colors for paint companies, I chose 26 different new interior colors for Spring 1993 to appear on the gallery walls. The wall text was formatted in columns and architecturally scaled, forcing the viewer to step back to read the text and come forward to read the artworks.