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Catherine Wagner
Alfred University Science Classroom, 1987
from the American Classroom Series
gelatin silver print18 x 14 in. (45.72 x 35.56 cm)
Gift of Thomas D. and Barbara C. Peckenpaugh
© Catherine Wagner
Catherine Wagner (American, b.1953)
Catherine Wagner, an award-winning photographer based in northern California, draws viewers into the world of science and rewards them with a body of imagery that is coolly formal and provocative at the same time. In Alfred University Science Classroom, which is from her series titled American Classroom, we see frogs kept in formaldehyde, ready for students to learn about basic body biology. The artist notes: “My keen interest in photographing science experiments was born out of the work I completed for American Classroom in 1987. The children’s classroom experiments I photographed seemed to act as a model for much larger life issues…. My longstanding interest in exploring cultural archetypes from the built environment (i.e., construction sites, classrooms, and homes) has led me to the ultimate model of a culture under construction: science. By posing questions that are inviting and inclusive of non-science audiences, I hope to provide a forum to reconsider science and its relation to us.” Alfred University Science Classroom was included in the single largest gift made to the University Art Museum: California State University, Long Beach, alumni Thomas D. and Barbara C. Peckenpaugh donated more than 260 individual photographs, portfolios, and rare books related to photography in 1994 and have since added additional works and research materials.
