I just twittered an update on a couple Lumens I have “cooking” but decided to write something a bit more substantial here. (If you’ve never heard of Twitter, or don’t get it, watch this very informative video: Twitter In plain English. I really like it as a micro-blogging platform and once I’m in grad school I’ll be using it a LOT more I imagine)
I started the two prints at about 3:00 PM on May 3. I set them out in the sun for about 3 hours, and then set them in our garage where they have sat and will sit for however much longer I decide to let them go. The reason is because the previous lumen I did, I had set in my basement for about a month and the plant had begun to grow mold (see the previous post). I really liked the results and the mold added yet one more variable to the already seemingly infinite list.
These new ones that are cooking are on different paper to see what the mold will do to it and so far they both are looking rather neat. One, which is even a different plant than the previous lumen, is doing some pretty interesting things. It had a fairly thick stem which, when I smashed it between the glass, widened substantially. Neither plant is aquatic; I bought them both at The Home Depot for about five dollars, so I’m working with plants that have considerably less moisture than has previously been present. Even with the lower moisture content in the plant, it was still high enough in this particular lumen to seep out into the paper. Mold is growing both on the plant itself, which I was pleased to see, as the plant looked rather dehydrated, and growing on the paper where the moisture seeped, which I was really excited about.
The second one is the same type of plant as is in the previous post, and some really exciting things are happening with it. One of the leaves has withered and shrunk, leaving a ghostly image of where it was. Whether it will show after fixing I don’t know, but I’m excited to find out. This plant had an even lower moisture content than the other plant had (or has?) but it’s growing mold a lot better. And the moisture that is there has fermented (I’m not sure if ferment is really the right word, but it’s the one I’m choosing), and smells really bad and looks utterly disgusting, though you have to stand on the glass to squeeze the muck out of it. I’m hoping it does some different things to the paper which I’ve not achieved on any other prints.
I just uploaded a blog post about James Hajicek and Carol Panaro-Smith over at 52Photographers.com. A lot of what they say in their artist statement is exactly what I feel about the process, especially this statement:
In trying to strip everything extraneous from the photographic process and get to the very magic at its source, we have found ourselves in an arena ruled by serendipity, elusive mysteries, fugitive images, and the ruling master of all – the ultimate impermanence of everything. (emphasis added)
These two work collaboratively, and hand coat paper, as opposed to my process of using commercially made photo paper.
Last weekend I made a few Lumens, one of which I had placed the plant and paper in the glass, then left it in my basement for over a month. It received no direct exposure to the sun, but the reflected UV rays still exposed it a little.
The most exciting thing about this particular plant/print, is due to it sitting for so long, the stem of the plant began to grow mold, which attacked the emulsion of the paper. It also created a very dark “halo” around that area of the plant.
I’ve started experimenting with magnifying glasses as well, as a way to “burn in” areas of the plant, and even burn the paper and plant itself. This way it puts me back in the darkroom in a way, except in a much slower and longer period of time, as “burning” takes a lot of time for there to be any noticeable change. Overall it’s pretty fun and the process becomes more interactive than it already is.
I heard a few good quotes today on the History of Photography podcast I listen to and thought I’d share:
From Aaron Siskind:
When I make a photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-contained, whose basic condition is order. Unlike the world and events whose permanent condition is change and disorder. I want to make an object that confronts you. Not an object you’re just looking at. It’s parallel to you.
From Bill Brandt:
Photography is still a very new medium and everything must be tried and dared. Photography has no rules, it is not a sport. It’s the results that counts no matter how it’s achieved.
I did not always know just what it was I wanted to photograph. I believe it’s important for a photographer to discover this, for unless he finds what it is that excites him, what it is that calls forth at once an emotional response, he is unlikely to achieve his best work. For me it was not easy.