Christmas Ornament
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Christmas Ornament” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Minor White was a prolific photographer, editor, and teacher, as well as a cofounder of the influential photography magazine Aperture. Influenced by his studies of Zen and mysticism, White employed a subjective approach to photography, in which the overall feeling and texture of an image take precedence over its content; indeed, he held that photographs could be metaphors for inner emotional states. White preferred to work in sequences rather than individual pictures, bringing images together in synthesis. This picture comes from a sequence titled “The Sound of One Hand Clapping” (the title relates to a Zen koan, or riddle), which features abstract close-ups of ice and snow. With a star shape atop a triangular composition, the organic forms in the frost of his apartment window suggest a Christmas tree. “One does not photograph something simply for ‘what it is,’” White wrote, “but ‘for what else it is.’”
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1994.318
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
