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Title
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Innocent Age (Spanish Dancer)
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Description
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This work is from the series “Innocent Age” in which the artist questions the veracity of photography. For this part of the series, Vargas appropriated old photos and superimposed hearts and flowers to symbolically indicate love and joy. She turned to this series recognizing that old photographs cannot reveal the daily realities of the children pictured; she could only hope their lives were joyful. Overall, the series is an interrogation of childhood circumstances. As Vargas went through images of her family, she realized that not all children were as lucky as she. She came to understand that posed photography reveals very little. She wondered if we are conditioned to see happiness in photos of children, even when their lives are precarious and in danger. She appropriated random childhood photographs to ask many questions: Were you happy? Did you feel safe in your family’s hands? Did they love you? The model is shown wearing Spanish-style garments. She poses against wall paper. The offering, or ofrenda, of flowers indicates love. Gelatin silver print with hand coloring. Dimensions: 24” x 20”
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Image
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https://artist-encuentro.elevator.umn.edu/fileManager/bestDerivativeByFileId/6a8c58d08aeffac19a00de8b
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Collection
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Summer 2026
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Access Rights
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© 2013, Kathy Vargas. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the written consent of the artist. The image may be used for educational personal individual uses and with credit to the artist.
