Exhibition: ‘The Polaroid Project’ at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Exhibition dates: 16th March – 17th June, 2018

 

Anna Reynolds. 'Marcus / Mutilation of the Soul' October 1992

 

Anna Reynolds
Marcus / Mutilation of the soul
October 1992
Phillip Institute, Melbourne
Polaroid

 

 

I love Polaroid photography. As “instant” photography it can have immediacy, but it can also be used for conceptual work as can be see in this posting. You can manipulate the image while it is still developing, and you can also later reclaim the negative from the Polaroid itself, providing a useful scannable or printable negative for further experimentation.

The idea of “instant” photography bemuses me. Nothing is ever “instant”. For example, in the Polaroid image of me above (and in all of the images below), there was thought, an idea, a process, and imagination going on well before the photograph was taken, and during its development (the manipulation of the Polaroid around the figure). Even a simple, vernacular photograph of a family scene contains the fact that the person behind the camera made a conscious decision to capture something that they saw, and press the shutter at a particular moment. It is never a “snapshot” for the process of taking a photograph is always a sub / conscious, imaginative, exclamation of choice.

So there is this space and time of in/decision; there is also the space and time of waiting (and manipulating if so desired) for the Polaroid to develop. That is the magical part for me… to see the image develop not in the drip tray of the darkroom, but holding the image in your hand, watching it emerge from the ether right in front of your eyes. Instant no, unforgettable, yes.

Dr Marcus Bunyan


Many thankx to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

 

 

The Polaroid Project will shed light on the broad aesthetic spectrum made possible by the groundbreaking technology of instant photography, showcasing around 220 works by over 100 artists. Polaroid – a brand that has long since become a legend – revolutionised photography in a way that can still be felt today and which lives on in photo apps and on Instagram. The exhibition was developed by the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis / New York / Paris / Lausanne, the MIT Museum in Cambridge (Massachusetts), and WestLicht. Schauplatz für Fotografie (Vienna), in cooperation with MKG, and will be shown at numerous international museums.

 

James Nitsch. 'Razor Blade' 1976 from the exhibition 'The Polaroid Project' at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, March - June, 2017

 

James Nitsch
Razor Blade
1976
Polaroid SX-70 assemblage with razor blade
10.7 x 8.8cm
© James Nitsch

 

Guy Bourdin (French, 1928-1991) 'Charles Jourdan' 1978 from the exhibition 'The Polaroid Project' at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, March - June, 2017

 

Guy Bourdin (French, 1928-1991)
Charles Jourdan 1978
1978
C-Print
88.9 x 116.8cm
© The Guy Bourdin Estate 2017 / Courtesy of Louise Alexander Gallery

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985) 'August 13' 1979

 

André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985)
August 13, 1979
1979
Polaroid SX-70
10.7 x 8.8cm
© The Estate of André Kertész, courtesy Stephen Bulger Gallery

 

Victor Landweber (American, b. 1943) 'Garbage Candy' 1979

 

Victor Landweber (American, b. 1943)
Garbage Candy
1979
Polaroid Polacolor Type 669 composite, bound in a book
10.8 x 16.1cm
© Victor Landweber, Collection Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona

 

Bruce Charlesworth (American, b. 1950) 'Untitled' 1979

 

Bruce Charlesworth (American, b. 1950)
Untitled
1979
Hand-painted Polaroid SX-70
10.7 x 8.8cm
© Bruce Charlesworth 1979

 

Barbara Crane (American, 1928-2019) 'Private Views' 1981

 

Barbara Crane (American, 1928-2019)
Private Views
1981
Polaroid Polacolor 4×5 Type 58
10.2 x 12.7cm
© Barbara Crane

 

Sandi Fellman (American, b. 1952) 'Grey Lion, Tokyo, Japan' 1983

 

Sandi Fellman (American, b. 1952)
Grey Lion, Tokyo, Japan
1983
Polaroid 20 x 24 Polacolor
73.7 x 56cm
© Sandi Fellman

 

Şahin Kaygun (Turkish, 1951-1992) 'Buttock' 1983

 

Şahin Kaygun (Turkish, 1951-1992)
Buttock
1983
Hand coloured, manipulated Polaroid Type 600 High Speed
10.7 x 8.8cm
© Şahin Kaygun

 

David Levinthal (American, b. 1949) 'Untitled' 1983-1985

 

David Levinthal (American, b. 1949)
Untitled from the series Modern Romance
1983-1985
Polaroid SX-70
10.7 x 8.8cm
© David Levinthal, ARS, NY and DACS, London 2017

 

 

In the exhibition The Polaroid Project, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg presents for the first time the full scope of the phenomenon of the Polaroid photograph. Based on some 220 photos by over 100 artists, as well as 90 camera models and prototypes, the show sheds light on the whole aesthetic spectrum of instant photography and on the innovative technology that made this visual revolution possible. Polaroid stands for a technology, an industry, a company, and its products. Presented to the public for the first time in 1947 by Edwin Land in New York, instant camera film made the photo lab superfluous. As if by magic, the picture gradually appears before the eyes of the photographer and subject. Polaroid – a brand that has long since attained legendary status – thus transformed our handling of photography in a way that is still pervasive today, living on in photo apps and Instagram. In the heyday of the company in the mid-20th century, Polaroid sold its cameras and film to millions of amateurs and professionals. The technical and aesthetic qualities of the new medium, and above all the immediacy and spontaneity of the photos, made it an exciting field of experimentation for artists as well.

Polaroid itself has worked closely with photographers from the start. One of the earliest advisors to Edwin Land, inventor and founder of the Polaroid Corporation, was Ansel Adams, the godfather of American landscape photography. In its Artist Support Program, the company provides film and cameras to both established figures and nascent talents in the art and photography scene. In return, it receives not only feedback on its products but also selected works for the company collection. For artists, the inventions from Land’s company offer a playground for their own discoveries, one that provides fresh inspiration for their photography. It thus came about that the exponents of Pop Art – chief among them Andy Warhol – raised the status of the Polaroid photo to a whole new level with their excessive use of the medium, securing for it a place in the artistic sphere.

Press release from the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

 

Dennis Hopper (American, 1936-2010) 'Los Angeles, Back Alley' 1987

 

Dennis Hopper (American, 1936-2010)
Los Angeles, Back Alley
1987
Polaroid SX-70
10.7 x 8.8cm
© Dennis Hopper, Courtesy of The Hopper Art Trust

 

Pierre-Louis Martin. 'Graines de Pissenlit' 1990

 

Pierre-Louis Martin
Graines de Pissenlit
1990
Gelatin silver print from Polaroid-Film Type 55
48.9 x 40cm
© Pierre-Louis Martin

 

Shelby Lee Adams (American, b. 1950) 'Esther and Bee Jay' 1991

 

Shelby Lee Adams (American, b. 1950)
Esther and Bee Jay
1991
Polaroid Polapan 4×5 Type 52
12.7 x 10.2cm
© Shelby Lee Adams

 

Kunihiro Shinohara (Japanese, b. 1948) 'Cosmic #9' 1993-2000

 

Kunihiro Shinohara (Japanese, b. 1948)
Cosmic #9
1993-2000
Inkjet print from Polaroid-Film Type 55
29.8 x 22.3cm
© Kunihiro Shinohara

 

Mark Klett (American, b. 1952) 'Contemplating the View at Muley Point, Utah' 1994

 

Mark Klett (American, b. 1952)
Contemplating the View at Muley Point, Utah
1994
Gelatin silver print from Polaroid-Film Type 55
40.6 x 50.8cm
© Mark Klett

 

Ellen Carey (American, b. 1952) 'Pulls (CMY)' 1997

 

Ellen Carey (American, b. 1952)
Pulls (CMY)
1997
Polaroid 20 x 24 Polacolor-Montage
210.8 x 167.6cm
© Ellen Carey, Jayne H. Baum Gallery, NYC, NY and M+B Gallery, LA, CA

 

Timothy White (American, b. 1956) 'Untitled' 1998

 

Timothy White (American, b. 1956)
Untitled
1998
Inkjet print from Polaroid-Film Type 665
50.8 x 40.6cm
© Timothy White

 

Toshio Shibata (Japanese, b. 1949) 'Untitled (# 228)' 2003

 

Toshio Shibata (Japanese, b. 1949)
Untitled (#228)
2003
Gelatin silver print from Polaroid-Film, Type 55
61 x 50.8cm
© Toshio Shibata

 

Chen Wei (Chinese, b. 1980) 'Everlasting Radio Wave-Test #5' 2008

 

Chen Wei (Chinese, b. 1980)
Everlasting Radio Wave-Test #5
2008
Fujifilm FP-100C
8.5 x 10.8cm
© Chen Wei

 

Paolo Gioli (Italian, 1942-2022) 'This Is Not My Face' 2010

 

Paolo Gioli (Italian, 1942-2022)
Questo volto non è il mio volto (This Face Is Not My Face)
2010
Polaroid 20 x 24 Polacolor and Polacolor transfer on acrylic
71 x 55cm
© Paolo Gioli

 

 

Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
Steintorplatz, 20099 Hamburg

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 6pm
Thursday 10am – 9pm
Closed Mondays

Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg website

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Exhibition: ‘In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age’ at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Exhibition dates: 25th October, 2009 – 14th March, 2010

 

William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800-1877) 'Lace' 1839-1844 from the exhibition 'In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age' at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 2009 - March, 2010

 

William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800-1877)
Lace
1839-1844
Photogenic drawing (salted paper print)
Sheet (trimmed to image): 17.1 x 22cm (6 3/4 x 8 11/16 in.)
Support: 24.8 x 31.1cm (9 3/4 x 12 1/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Patrons’ Permanent Fund
Public domain

 

Many thankx to Kate Afanasyeva and the National Gallery of Art for allowing me to reproduce the photographs from the exhibition below. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

Dr Marcus Bunyan

 

Anna Atkins (British, 1799-1871) 'Ferns, Specimen of Cyanotype' 1840s from the exhibition 'In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age' at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 2009 - March, 2010

 

Anna Atkins (British, 1799-1871)
Ferns, Specimen of Cyanotype
1840s
cyanotype
National Gallery of Art, Washington
R.K. Mellon Family Foundation Fund

 

Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes. 'The Letter' c. 1850  from the exhibition 'In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age' at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 2009 - March, 2010

 

Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes
The Letter
c. 1850
daguerreotype
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Patrons’ Permanent Fund

 

Southworth and Hawes’ aspirations for their portraits went far beyond those of the average photographer of their day. Whereas most daguerreotypists, simply concerned with rendering a likeness, used stock poses, painted backdrops, and even head restraints to firmly fix their subjects, Southworth and Hawes were celebrated not just for their technical expertise, but also for their penetrating studies, innovative style, and creative use of natural light. They sought to elevate their subjects “far beyond common nature” and embody their “genius and spirit of poetry,” as Southworth wrote in 1871. “What is to be done is obliged to be done quickly. The whole character of the sitter is to be read at first sight; the whole likeness, as it shall appear when finished, is to be seen at first, in each and all its details, and in their unity and combination.”2

Among Southworth and Hawes’ most accomplished studies, The Letter is exceptional in its composition and mood. Most American daguerreotype portraits made in the 1840s and 1850s were frontal, bust-length studies of single figures who rarely show any kind of facial expression because of the often long exposure times. The Letter, however, is a highly evocative study. With its carefully constructed composition and tight pyramidal structure, it presents two thoughtful young women contemplating a letter. Through their posture and expression, these women seem to gain not only physical support from each other, but also emotional strength. Although the identity of the women is unknown, as is the content of the letter, this large and distinguished daguerreotype reflects Southworth and Hawes’ aspiration to capture “the life, the feeling, the mind, and the soul” of their subjects.3

(Text by Sarah Greenough, published in the National Gallery of Art exhibition catalogue, Art for the Nation, 2000)

Text from the National Gallery of Art website

 

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
'Saint John the Evangelist, Chartres Cathedral' c. 1854

 

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
Saint John the Evangelist, Chartres Cathedral
c. 1854
Salted paper print from a paper negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Eugene L. and Marie-Louise Garbaty Fund, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund and New Century Fund
Public domain

 

In 1851 the French government’s Commission des Monuments Historiques selected five photographers to document architectural treasures throughout the country. Nègre was not included, perhaps because he was a member of the opposition party, but he took it upon himself to photograph extensively in Marseilles, Arles, Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence in the early 1850s, and in 1854 he made many photographs of Chartres Cathedral.

Nègre applied his growing understanding of light, shadow, line, and form in Saint John the Evangelist, Chartres Cathedral, and the photograph beautifully illustrates his willingness to sacrifice “a few details,” as he wrote, to capture “an imposing effect.” In addition, unlike photographers associated with the Commission des Monuments Historiques, who were asked to provide general studies of a building’s façade, Nègre was free to explore more unusual views. The statue of Saint John the Evangelist is situated high in the north spire of Chartres, several feet above a nearby balcony. Although difficult to see and even harder for Nègre to record (he most likely perched his camera on a platform), the view in his photograph succinctly captured what he called the cathedral’s “real character” and “preserved the poetic charm that surrounded it.”

Text from the National Gallery of Art website

 

Unknown photographer (American 19th Century) 'George E. Lane, Jr.' c. 1855

 

Unknown photographer (American 19th Century)
George E. Lane, Jr.
c. 1855
Ambrotype
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Kathleen, Melissa, and Pamela Stegeman
Public domain

 

Étienne Carjat (French, 1828-1906)
'Charles Baudelaire' 1861, printed 1877

 

Étienne Carjat (French, 1828-1906)
Charles Baudelaire
1861, printed 1877
Woodburytype
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Jacob Kainen
Public domain

 

William James Stillman (American, 1828-1901) 'The Acropolis of Athens'
1869/1870

 

William James Stillman (American, 1828-1901)
The Acropolis of Athens
1869/1870
Carbon print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation through Robert and Joyce Menschel

 

J.G. Ellinwood (American, 1844-1924) 'Portrait of a Woman' c. 1870

 

J.G. Ellinwood (American, 1844-1924)
Portrait of a Woman
c. 1870
Tintype, hand-coloured
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Mary and Dan Solomon Fund

 

Clarence White (American, 1871-1925) 'Mrs. White - In the Studio' 1907

 

Clarence White (American, 1871-1925)
Mrs. White – In the Studio
1907
platinum print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation through Robert and Joyce Menschel and R.K. Mellon Family Foundation Fund

 

Karl Struss (American, 1886-1981) 'Columbia University, Night' 1910

 

Karl Struss (American, 1886-1981)
Columbia University, Night
1910
Gum dichromate over platinum print
Image: 24.1 × 19.9cm (9 1/2 × 7 13/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation through Robert and Joyce Menschel

 

Laura Gilpin (American, 1891-1979) 'Ghost Rock, Colorado Springs' 1919

 

Laura Gilpin (American, 1891-1979)
Ghost Rock, Colorado Springs
1919
Platinum print
24.2 x 19.1cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Marvin Breckinridge Patterson Fund
© 1979 Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

 

László Moholy-Nagy (Hungarian, 1895-1946) 'Untitled (Positive)' c. 1922-1924

 

László Moholy-Nagy (Hungarian, 1895-1946)
Untitled (Positive)
c. 1922-1924
gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of The Circle of the National Gallery of Art

 

László Moholy-Nagy (Hungarian, 1895-1946) 'Untitled' c. 1922-1924

 

László Moholy-Nagy (Hungarian, 1895-1946)
Untitled
c. 1922-1924
gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
New Century Fund

 

Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
'Magasin, Avenue des Gobelins' 1925

 

Eugène Atget (French, 1857-1927)
Magasin, Avenue des Gobelins
1925
gelatin silver print, printed-out
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Patrons’ Permanent Fund
Public domain

 

Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian, 1891-1956) 'Pioneer with a Bugle' 1930

 

Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian, 1891-1956)
Pioneer with a Bugle
1930
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Patrons’ Permanent Fund

 

Sid Grossman (American, 1913-1955) 'San Gennaro Festival, New York City' 1948

 

Sid Grossman (American, 1913-1955)
San Gennaro Festival, New York City
1948
gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Anonymous Gift

 

Saul Leiter (American, 1923-2013) 'Snow' 1960

 

Saul Leiter (American, 1923-2013)
Snow
1960, printed 2005
Chromogenic colour print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Saul Leiter

 

Diane Arbus (American, 1923-1971) 'A young man in curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966' 1966

 

Diane Arbus (American, 1923-1971)
A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C., 1966
1966
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of the Collectors Committee

 

 

The extraordinary range and complexity of the photographic process is explored, from the origins of the medium in the 1840s up to the advent of digital photography at the end of the 20th century, in a comprehensive exhibition and its accompanying guidebook at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. On view in the West Building, from October 25, 2009 through March 14, 2010, In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes Before the Digital Age chronicles the major technological developments in the 170-year history of photography and presents the virtuosity of the medium’s practitioners. Drawn from the Gallery’s permanent collection are some 90 photographs – ranging from William Henry Fox Talbot’s images of the 1840s to Andy Warhol’s Polaroid prints of the 1980s.

“In the Darkroom and the accompanying guidebook provide a valuable overview of the medium as well as an introduction to the most commonly used photographic processes from its earliest days,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art.

In the Darkroom

Organised chronologically, the exhibition opens with Lace (1839-1844), a photogenic drawing by William Henry Fox Talbot. Made without the aid of a camera, the image was produced by placing a swath of lace onto a sheet of sensitised paper and then exposing it to light to yield a tonally reversed image.

Talbot’s greatest achievement – the invention of the first negative-positive photographic process – is also celebrated in this section with paper negatives by Charles Nègre and Baron Louis-Adolphe Humbert de Molard as well as salted paper prints made from paper negatives by Nègre, partners David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, and others.

The daguerreotype, the first publicly introduced photographic process and the most popular form of photography during the medium’s first decade, is represented by a selection of British and American works, including an exquisite large-plate work by the American photographers Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes (see photograph above). By the mid-1850s, the daguerreotype’s popularity was eclipsed by two new processes, the ambrotype and the tintype. These portable photographs on glass or metal were relatively inexpensive to produce and were especially popular for portraiture.

The year 1851 marked a turning point in photographic history with the introduction of the collodion negative on glass and the albumen print process. Most often paired together, this negative-print combination yielded lustrous prints with a subtle gradation of tones from dark to light and became the most common form of photography in the 19th century, seen here in works by Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, and Gustave Le Gray.

Near the turn of the 20th century, a number of new, complex print processes emerged, such as platinum and palladium, gum dichromate, and bromoil. Often requiring significant manipulation by the hand of the artist, these processes were favoured by photographers such as Gertrude Käsebier, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston.

One of the most significant developments of the late 19th century was the introduction of gelatin into photographic processes, which led to the invention of the film negative and the gelatin silver print. These became the standard for 20th-century black-and-white photography. A chronological selection of gelatin silver prints, including a contact print made by André Kertész in 1912; a grainy, blurred image of Little Italy’s San Gennaro festival at night by Sid Grossman from 1948 (see photograph above); and a coolly precise industrial landscape by Frank Gohlke from 1975, reveals how the introduction of the film negative and changes in the gelatin silver print process profoundly shaped the direction of modern photography. This section also explores the development of ink-based, photomechanical processes such as photogravure, Woodburytype, and halftone that enabled the large-scale, high-quality reproduction of photographs in books and magazines.

The final section of the exhibition explores the rise of colour photography in the 20th century. Although the introduction of chromogenic colour processes made colour photography commercially viable by the 1930s, it was not widely employed by artists until the 1970s. The exhibition celebrates the pioneers of colour photography, including Harry Callahan and William Eggleston, who made exceptional work using the complicated dye transfer process. The exhibition also explores the range of processes developed by the Polaroid Corporation that provided instant gratification to the user, from Andy Warhol’s small SX-70 prints to the large-scale Polaroid prints represented by the work of contemporary photographer David Levinthal.

Press release from the National Gallery of Art website [Online] Cited 15/02/2010 no longer available online

 

Roger Fenton (British, 1819-1869) 'The Cloisters, Tintern Abbey' 1854  from the exhibition 'In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age' at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., October 2009 - March, 2010

 

Roger Fenton (British, 1819-1869)
The Cloisters, Tintern Abbey
1854
Salted paper print from a collodion negative
18.3 x 22.1cm (7 3/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation through Robert and Joyce Menschel
Public domain

 

Although Roger Fenton’s photographic career lasted for only 11 years, he exerted a profound influence on the medium. Trained as a lawyer, he began to paint in the early 1840s, studying in Paris with Michel-Martin Drölling and later in London with Charles Lucy. But in 1851 he took up photography and produced a distinguished and varied body of work. He was a pivotal figure in the formation of the Photographic Society (later known as the Royal Photographic Society), garnering support from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He is best known for his 1855 photographs made during the Crimean War, among the first to document war. But he also made ambitious studies of English cathedrals, country houses, and landscapes as well as portraits of the royal family, a series of still lifes, and studies of figures in Asian costume.

When Fenton first began to make photographs, he generally posed figures in a fairly stiff, even anecdotal manner. But in 1854 he began to use figures to create a sense of tension at once intriguing and compelling. The Cloisters, Tintern Abbey shows this more dynamic approach. Fenton placed people in three groups, not interacting with one another but engaging in silent and solitary dialogue with their decaying surroundings. Tintern Abbey had, of course, inspired many artists and poets to reflect on both “the life of things” – as William Wordsworth wrote in his 1798 poem, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” – and on the transitory nature of life itself.

Text from the National Gallery of Art website

 

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
'Cathédrale de Chartres - Portique du Midi XIIe Siècle (Chartres Cathedral, South Portal, 12th Century)' c. 1854, printed c. 1857

 

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
Cathédrale de Chartres – Portique du Midi XIIe Siècle (Chartres Cathedral, South Portal, 12th Century)
c. 1854, printed c. 1857
photogravure
National Gallery of Art, Washington
William and Sarah Walton Fund

 

Roger Fenton (British, 1819-1869)
'Fruit and Flowers' 1860

 

Roger Fenton (British, 1819-1869)
Fruit and Flowers
1860
Albumen print from a collodion negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Paul Mellon Fund
public domain

 

In the summer of 1860 Fenton made his most deliberate and exacting photographs to date: a series of still lifes. Although the subject obviously had its roots in painting, his densely packed compositions are far removed from the renditions of everyday life by the Dutch masters. Instead, Fenton extravagantly piled luscious fruits and intricately patterned flowers on top of one another and pushed them to the front of his composition so that they seem almost ready to tumble out of the photograph into the viewer’s space. It is that very immediacy – the precarious composition, the lush sensuousness of the objects, and our knowledge of their imminent decay – that makes these photographs so striking.

Text from the National Gallery of Art website

 

Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820-1884) 'Cavalry Maneuvers behind barrier, Camp de Châlons' 1857

 

Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820-1884)
Cavalry Maneuvers behind barrier, Camp de Châlons
1857
Albumen silver print from glass negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington

 

Platt D. Babbitt (American, 1822-1879) 'Niagara Falls' c. 1860

 

Platt D. Babbitt (American, 1822-1879)
Niagara Falls
c. 1860
Ambrotype
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Vital Projects Fund

 

Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946) 'The Terminal' 1893

 

Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946)
The Terminal
1893, printed 1920s/1930s
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Alfred Stieglitz Collection

 

Aaron Siskind (American, 1903-1991) 'Martha's Vineyard 108' 1954

 

Aaron Siskind (American, 1903-1991)
Martha’s Vineyard 108
1954
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Diana and Mallory Walker Fund

 

Dave Heath (Canadian, born United States, 1931-2016) 'Hastings-on-Hudson, New York' 1963

 

Dave Heath (Canadian, born United States, 1931-2016)
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
1963
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Howard Greenberg

 

William Eggleston (American, b. 1939) 'Untitled (Car in Parking Lot)' 1973

 

William Eggleston (American, b. 1939)
Untitled (Car in Parking Lot)
1973
Dye imbibition print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Anonymous Gift

 

Harry Callahan (American, 1912-1999) 'Providence' 1977

 

Harry Callahan (American, 1912-1999)
Providence
1977
Dye transfer print

 

Robert Adams (American, b. 1937) 'Summer Nights #2 (Longmont, Colorado)' 1979

 

Robert Adams (American, b. 1937)
Summer Nights #2 (Longmont, Colorado)
1979
Gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of Mary and David Robinson

 

Richard Misrach (American, b. 1949)
'Dead Fish, Salton Sea, California' 1983, printed 1997

 

Richard Misrach (American, b. 1949)
Dead Fish, Salton Sea, California
1983, printed 1997
Chromogenic colour print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Anonymous Gift

 

Mark Klett (American, b. 1952) 'Under the Dark Cloth, Monument Valley, May 27' 1989

 

Mark Klett (American, b. 1952)
Under the Dark Cloth, Monument Valley, May 27
1989
Gelatin silver print from Polaroid instant film negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Gift of the Collectors Committee

 

Edward Burtynsky (Canadian, b. 1955) 'Shipbreaking #10, Chittagong, Bangladesh' 2000, printed 2001

 

Edward Burtynsky (Canadian, b. 1955)
Shipbreaking #10, Chittagong, Bangladesh
2000, printed 2001
Chromogenic colour print
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Fund for Living Photographers

 

 

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW.

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Exhibition: ‘Charting the Canyon: Photographs by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe’ at Phoenix Art Museum

Exhibition dates: 21st March – 12th July, 2009

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Rock formations on the Road to Lee's Ferry, Arizona' 2008 from the exhibition 'Charting the Canyon: Photographs by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe' at Phoenix Art Museum, March - July, 2009

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Rock formations on the Road to Lee’s Ferry, Arizona
2008
Digital inkjet print
36″ h x 76″ w

Left inset: William Bell. Plateau North of the Colorado River near the Paris 1872 (courtesy National Archives)
Right inset: William Bell. Headlands North of the Colorado River 1872 (courtesy National Archives)

 

 

An interesting concept but I’m not entirely sure that the images are successful. Some work better than others. Perhaps it is not necessary for there to be an absolute registration across time and space, the continuation of a horizon line for example. The famous photographic collages by David Hockney are a case in point.

It doesn’t matter when the images were made, whether there is a second, or a century, between compositions. The camera and the artist are always selective, the camera always privileging one view over another view: all images are therefore constructions. Hockney pushes the boundaries of these constructions whereas I don’t think these images do to anywhere near the same extent.

There were some vaguely interesting videos on the Phoenix Art Museum website about the starting point, discovery, process and collaboration for the work which are no longer available. There is one video available on the Klett and Wolfe website.

Dr Marcus Bunyan


Many thankx to Phoenix Art Museum for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

 

 

William H. Bell (1830 - January 28, 1910) 'Headlands North of the Colorado River' 1872 from the exhibition 'Charting the Canyon: Photographs by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe' at Phoenix Art Museum, March - July, 2009

 

William H. Bell (American, 1830-1910)
Headlands North of the Colorado River
1872
Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division
Courtesy National Archives

 

 

Arizona’s Grand Canyon – natural wonder, national park, tourist attraction, sacred land – is perhaps the world’s best “photo op.” The collaborative photographic team of Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe have set out to explore this celebrated place of dramatic beauty, and Phoenix Art Museum is proud to be the first to show a comprehensive look at their powerful, thoughtful, and playful approach to the Grand Canyon.

Drawn from two seasons of fieldwork, Charting the Canyon will include about 30 photographs ranging from a modest 20 by 20-inch print to a panorama nearly 10 feet wide. Mark Klett, a Regents Professor at Arizona State University, and Byron Wolfe, a former student of Klett’s who is now a Lantis’ University Professor teaches at California State University at Chico, have been interested in rephotographing historic images since their collaboration began in 1997.

Now the pair combines their own colour photographs with imagery by 19th-century photographer J. K. Hillers and artist William Holmes and by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, who worked at the Canyon in the early 20th century. Klett and Wolfe respond to the historic images and the Canyon itself, yielding artworks that reconsider an icon, challenge how we perceive the land, and bring a new perspective to its portrayals.

Charting the Canyon offers visual delights: the humorous layering of a 19th-century drawing with contemporary photographic details, the extension of an Ansel Adams view into a serene panorama, and the illusion of three-dimensions with a stereopticon viewer built for the twenty-first century, among others to be discovered in this unique exhibition.

Text from the Phoenix Art Museum website [Online] Cited 20/04/2009. No longer available online

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Sixty-six years after Edward Weston's "Storm, Arizona" From the Marble Canyon Trading Post' 2007

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Sixty-six years after Edward Weston’s “Storm, Arizona” From the Marble Canyon Trading Post
2007
Digital inkjet print
16″ h x 38.75″ w

Left: Edward Weston. Storm, Arizona 1941 (courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson)

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Desert View: from the window of the Watchtower gift shop' 2008

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Desert View: from the window of the Watchtower gift shop
2008

 

 

The Grand Canyon – natural wonder, sacred ground, national park, international tourist attraction – is perhaps the world’s best “photo op.” Vivid colours, breathtaking vistas and jaw dropping canyon depths have lured photographers to Northern Arizona for years. A new exhibition, Charting the Canyon: Photographs by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe on view at Phoenix Art Museum through July 12, 2009, explores this celebrated place of dramatic beauty with large-scale sweeping panoramas that marry 21st century colour photographs with historic drawings and images.

In 2007, Mark Klett, a Regents Professor at Arizona State University, and Byron Wolfe, a former student of Klett’s and now a Lantis’ University Professor at California State University at Chico, headed to the Grand Canyon to re-envision the many images made at the site over the last 150 years. During two summers of field work, they identified the exact locations portrayed in early photographs and drawings. From those geographic points they created new photographs that incorporate the original view. Digital versions of the historic images are inserted within the contemporary photograph, creating combined images that convey the big picture surrounding earlier artists’ depicted view.

Working collaboratively, Klett and Wolfe challenge one another to invent new ways to integrate the historic images they discover. Charting the Canyon reveals their combined invention, offering provocative ways to think about the land, its history and our role in seeing it.

“Many of the things we’re trying to do seemed impossible at first – like merging several views of a scene from different times into a continuous space, or extending one photo’s frame to include spaces from multiple vantage points,” commented Klett. “We’re intentionally using playfulness as a way to stretch ideas, a kind of free form exploration that puts a premium on creative solutions to complex space and time problems.”

“The pleasure the artists experienced in the creative process comes through in their work. Charting the Canyon is a joyful exploration allowing Museum visitors to discover the Grand Canyon in a new and thought-provoking way,” commented Rebecca Senf, Norton Family Assistant Curator of photography, Phoenix Art Museum. “Phoenix Art Museum is proud to be the first to show a comprehensive look at Klett and Wolfe’s powerful, thoughtful and playful images.”

Charting the Canyon includes 26 photographs ranging from a modest 20 by 20-inch print to a panorama 10 feet wide. Exhibition highlights include:
The humorous layering of a 19th-century drawing with contemporary photographic details.
The extension of an Ansel Adams view into a serene panorama.
The pairing of a black-and-white Edward Weston view with a colour image made 66 years later.
The illusion of three-dimensions with a stereopticon viewer built for the 21st century.

Text from Artdaily.org website

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Point Imperial on the Grand Canyon' 2008

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Point Imperial on the Grand Canyon, 50% Ansel Adams, 50% Red Wall Limestone
2008

Left: Ansel Adams. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona 1941

 

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) 'Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona' 1941

 

Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984)
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
1941
Gelatin silver print

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Panorama from Hopi Point on the Grand Canyon, made over two days extending the view of Ansel Adams' 2007 

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Panorama from Hopi Point on the Grand Canyon, made over two days extending the view of Ansel Adams
2007

Right: Ansel Adams. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona 1941 (Courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ)

 

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) 'Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona' 1941

 

Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984)
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
1941
Gelatin silver print
Courtesy of the Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ

 

 

“We’re intentionally using playfulness as a way to extend ideas, a kind of free-form exploration that puts a premium on creative solutions to complex space and time problems. Many of the things we’re trying to do seemed impossible at first – like merging several views of a scene from different times into a continuous space, or extending one photo’s frame to include spaces from multiple vantage points.”

Klett and Wolfes process of inserting historic views within contemporary photographs, or linking a number of different historic views, emphasises the possibilities of multiple interpretations of a single landscape. If we look at a photograph of the Grand Canyon, we bring to it our own cultural notions, myths, and memories, and read it based on our personal point of view. By bringing together images made throughout time, Klett and Wolfe remind us that any terrain is not only what we see and think about it in this present moment, but it is part of a long evolution of thought and use that includes the past and future, as well. The team’s photographs present time as overlapping layers, much like the stratigraphic rock of the Canyon. This unconventional presentation encourages viewers to see time as a flexible construction.

Text by Rebecca Senf, Assistant Curator of photography, Phoenix Art Museum from the exhibition brochure [Online] Cited 20/04/2009. No longer available online

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe. 'Details from the view at Point Sublime on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, based on the panoramic drawing by William Holmes (1882)' 2007

 

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe
Details from the view at Point Sublime on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, based on the panoramic drawing by William Holmes (1882)
2007

Lithograph by William Henry Holmes, 1882. From Clarence Dutton, Atlas to Accompany the Monograph on the Tertiary History of the Grand Cañon District. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress).

 

David Hockney (English, b. 1937) 'Pearblossom Highway., 11 - 18th April 1986 #2' 1986

 

David Hockney (English, b. 1937)
Pearblossom Highway., 11-18th April 1986 #2
1986

 

 

Phoenix Art Museum
McDowell Road & Central Avenue
1625 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Opening hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 10am – 9pm
Thursday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm

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