one of my favorites (thanks to morgan levy for introducing me to her work).

“american painter, sculptor, object-maker and draughtswoman, of latvian birth. celmins spent much time drawing and painting at school and at home, although she did not yet speak or write english. she studied painting at the john herron school of art in indianapolis (1955–62) and regularly visited new york to see the work of the abstract expressionists. from 1966 celmins took photographs as subjects for paintings. in painted and drawn works since 1968 she drew upon photographs from books, magazines and those taken by herself, including views of the sea, desert and constellations. in such works as moon surface (luna 9) no. 1 (1969; new york, MOMA) she carefully built up and layered marks to create a distance between photograph and painting, also calling attention to the paper surface. her persistent attention to the psychological implications of the artistic process in relation to the formulation of images made the images objects for contemplation.” (oxford university press)