
Coffee Cup, Knife and Book
1980 · Oil on gelatin silver print
10 5/8 x 13 3/4" (27.7 x 35.1 cm)
Museum of Modern Art

Duane Michals works in sequential photography, arranging multi-frame narratives that unfold across a series of images rather than through a single decisive moment. Handwritten text appears directly on his prints, threading philosophical and emotional inquiry into the visual surface itself. Born in 1932, he developed this approach against the grain of documentary and fine art photography conventions, turning the medium toward interior states, mortality, identity, and the metaphysical. His sequences treat photography less as record than as a vehicle for storytelling and psychological investigation.
Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago