Photogram with Hand, Scissors and Owl Cut-Outs

1942, printed 1983

Photogram with Hand, Scissors and Owl Cut-Outs, 1942, printed 1983. Ilse Bing (American, 1899–1998). Gelatin silver print; image: 34.2 x 26.4 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.); paper: 34.2 x 26.4 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.); mounted: 50.7 x 40.4 cm (19 15/16 x 15 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg 2020.300 © Estate of Ilse Bing Ilse Bing placed objects on photosensitive paper and exposed the grouping to light. Her hand and the scissors—the tools she used to create the impish forms—are self-referential symbols akin to earlier self-portraits that show her in the act of taking the photograph we see. A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera.