"Vulva and Her Devoted Pee Puh"

Original black and white silver-gelatin photograph by American photographer and artist, Steven F. Arnold (1943-1994).

Signed, dated, numbered, and titled by the artist, on the reverse in pencil. Matted and framed in a black-painted wood frame. Printed on Agfa gelatin-silver paper. Double-weight, semi matte finish. Agfa logo on reverse.

Printed by the artist in 1987, in an edition of seven. The photograph depicts a tableau of two figures in a surreal constructed architectural landscape of the artist's own making. One of his best and rarest images.

PHOTOGRAPH: 14" x 14" (image) / 16" x 20" (sheet)

FRAME: 21.5" x 23"

PROVENANCE: Private collection, San Francisco.

NOTES / REFERENCES: Steven F. Arnold (1943-1994) was an American multidisciplinary artist and protege of Salvador Dalí. He was a filmmaker, photographer, painter, illustrator, set designer, and assemblage artist.

Born in Oakland, California, in 1958 Arnold entered the Oakland Technical High School where he met his lifelong friend, muse, and collaborator, Pandora. In 1961 Steven Arnold won a full scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute. In the summer of 1963 he took a break to study in Paris and enrolled at Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Returning to San Francisco in the fall of 1964, Arnold resumed his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, turning his eye to film-making. He wrote, directed and designed three short films over the next two years. By late 1967 Arnold was about to receive his BFA, and his final student film Messages Messages was drawing critical attention. In 1970 Arnold began filming Luminous Procuress, which went on to win him the 1972 New Directors award at the San Francisco International Film Festival, an extended exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and a second invite to Cannes Director's Fortnight. Salvador Dali was so impressed with the film that he arranged a private screening at the St. Regis Hotel, to which he invited New York elites, including Andy Warhol, who also praised the film's genius. Arnold became a favorite of Dali and in 1974 he went to study with him in Spain, helping Dali to embellish and inaugurate his Teatro-Museo Dali. After returning to California, Arnold was driven to find new modes of expression so he established his Los Angeles photography studio and west coast salon, Zanzibar. In the 1980's, Arnold found his niche, designing and shooting tableau-vivants for four books.

Steven Arnold was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 at the height of his popularity and died in 1994. His works are in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; Frankfurter Kunstverein in Germany; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; Cinematheque Francaise in Paris; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SF MoMA); the Oakland Museum of California; the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archive and Museum in Los Angeles; and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

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Excellent condition with no damage or restorations. Frame with light wear. Photograph is taped, at the top edge, to the matte.