The Polaroid Collection

Transcription

1 The Polaroid Collection Welcome to the introduction to The Polaroid Collection. Please note that the copyrights for the photographs contained in this program are held by the individual artists and that this program is intended for Polaroid s internal use only. The written content is included on the final two screens of this document and may be printed separately by the selecting pages in the Print File Dialog Box. Your questions and comments are encouraged. Please contact Barbara Hitchcock. tel: hitchcb@polaroid.com For additional artist and exhibition information, visit the Polaroid Home Page ( under Creative Uses. Albano Guatti Untitled, 1985 Polaroid Type 600 photograph

2 For the past 50 years, from the inception of instant photography, Polaroid Corporation has actively promoted the arts through its Artist Support Programs. What originally began as a research activity has since grown into a significant, mutually beneficial relationship between the corporation and the artist. Danko Pinkus Self-portrait, 1984 Manipulated Polaroid SX-70 photograph

3 Ellen Carey Untitled, x24 Polacolor photograph Since the early years of Polaroid film testing in the late 1940s, artists have been invited to experiment with Polaroid film materials, and selected work has been accessioned into the permanent archives of the Polaroid Collection, now housed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and Le Musée de l Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland.

4 In 1948, the year the first instant camera was marketed, Ansel Adams was hired by Polaroid s founder, Edwin H. Land, as a consultant to test new films and analyze results. His contributions led the way for the support programs to follow. Dr. Land felt that the artist could tell us things about Polaroid products from a point of view that would be quite different from that of the company s technical staff. He sensed that artists would push Polaroid film to the limits and report back even the most minute problems. Ansel Adams Half Dome, Reflections, Merced River, Yosemite, 1960 Polaroid 4x5 Positive/ Negative film Type 55

5 In the 1950s and 60s, several young photographers joined Adams in testing film, among them, Paul Caponigro, William Clift, Nick Dean and John Benson. Much of their early black-and-white work, influenced by the landscape tradition of Adams and Minor White, forms the basis of The Polaroid Collection. Paul Caponigro Untitled, 1962 Gelatin silver photograph from Polaroid Positive/Negative 4x5 film Type 55

6 Officially founded in the late sixties. The Collection aims to encourage and assist photographers in the medium of Polaroid instant photography and to enable Polaroid Corporation to acquire an exciting and diversified collection of original instant images. The International Polaroid Collection, begun informally in the late sixties, contains photographs that express experimentation and innovation by an international array of professional photographers and artists. Werner Hannappel France, 1989 Gelatin silver print from Polaroid Positive/Negative film

7 In Europe, David Bailey, Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton and Josef Sudek were among the leading artists who were intrigued by the opportunity and challenge to experiment with what, for them, was new photographic technology. Their instant imagery stimulated interest among other practitioners and the collection began to blossom. The two complementary collections American and international together comprise more than 22,000 images by more than 1000 photographers; the collections were integrated in Jan van Steenwijk Lars med kylling, 10 Nov. 84 Gelatin silver print from Polaroid Positive/Negative film

8 The Artist Support Program is designed for the mutual benefit of all parties: artists receive support and exposure, the viewing public gains access to a richly creative body of work, and the Corporation gains feedback, publicity, and sales for its products. Photographers are given small film and equipment grants and asked to provide Polaroid with one image per grant for the Collection. Exhibitions are created periodically from the Collection and toured throughout the international museum circuit, publicity is generated, portfolios are printed in the media, and books are published. Olivia Parker Night Rising, x24 Polacolor photograph

9 Since 1973, more than 40 exhibitions have been exhibited, including, Aigner s Paris, From My Window (André Kertész), Lucas Samaras: Polaroid Photographs, , and Legacy of Light. In addition to generating positive publicity for the corporation, exhibitions like these illustrate the quality and creative potential of Polaroid films to a wide audience. Lucas Samaras Still-Life, Polaroid Polacolor 8x10 Film

10 The 1970s and 80s were a very active period for the Artist Support Program. Hundreds of photographers, working with various instant films, created works of art for themselves and Polaroid. Rosamond Purcell, a Boston artist with an international reputation, says: I started as a photographer with Polaroid films, and my progress has been defined by the materials. This medium encourages play and active participation, and demands that you figure it out as you go along. Because you re generally working from print to print, you can t pretend. You know right away whether it s successful or not. Rosamond W. Purcell Crèche, 1987 Polaroid Spectra photograph

11 Although artists work in a variety of Polaroid film formats, one of the most exciting ones exploded on the scene in 1978 when the Polaroid 20x24 camera and film system were introduced. Producing a 20x24-inch contact print, the large format camera is renowned for the lush color and crisp black-and-white photographs artists and commercial photographers create. William Wegman Rolleramer, x24 Polacolor photograph William Wegman made his anthropomorphic Weimaraners famous in these giant photographs, while other artists, including Olivia Parker, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Dawoud Bey and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, explore the creative potential of ultra large format in distinctly different ways.

12 Polaroid s primary commercial 20x24 studio is located in New York City, however, another commercial studio is in Prague, the Czech Republic, to serve the European markets. In Boston, a testament to Polaroid support for photographic education, a 20x24 camera has been loaned to Massachusetts College of Art for use in their art curriculum. Laurie Novak Untitled, x24 Polacolor photograph

13 Today, The Polaroid Collection stands as a shining example of the quality and diversity of images created in art and industry throughout the world. Starr Ockenga Fish with Jewels #1, 1984 Polacolor 8x10 Type 809 photograph

14 THE POLAROID COLLECTION For the past 50 years, from the inception of instant photography, Polaroid Corporation has actively promoted the arts through its Artist Support Programs. What originally began as a research activity has since grown into a significant, mutually beneficial relationship between the corporation and the artist. Since the early years of Polaroid film testing in the late 1940s, artists have been invited to experiment with Polaroid film materials, and selected work has been accessioned into the permanent archives of the Polaroid Collection, now housed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and Le Musée de l Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1948, the year the first instant camera was marketed, Ansel Adams was hired by Polaroid s founder, Edwin H. Land, as a consultant to test new films and analyze results. His contributions led the way for the support programs to follow. Dr. Land felt that the artist could tell us things about Polaroid products from a point of view that would be quite different from that of the company s technical staff. He sensed that artists would push Polaroid film to the limits and report back even the most minute problems. In the 1950s and 60s, several young photographers joined Adams in testing film, among them, Paul Caponigro, William Clift, Nick Dean and John Benson. Much of their early black-and-white work, influenced by the landscape tradition of Adams and Minor White, forms the basis of The Polaroid Collection. Officially founded in the late sixties. The Collection aims to encourage and assist photographers in the medium of Polaroid instant photography and to enable Polaroid Corporation to acquire an exciting and diversified collection of original instant images. The International Polaroid Collection, begun informally in the late sixties, contains photographs that express experimentation and innovation by an international array of professional photographers and artists. In Europe, David Bailey, Sarah Moon, Helmut Newton and Josef Sudek were among the leading artists who were intrigued by the opportunity and challenge to experiment with what, for them, was new photographic technology. Their instant imagery stimulated interest among other practitioners and the collection began to blossom. The two complementary collections American and international together comprise more than 22,000 images by more than 1000 photographers; the collections were integrated in The Artist Support Program is designed for the mutual benefit of all parties: artists receive support and exposure, the viewing public gains access to a richly creative body of work, and the Corporation gains feedback, publicity, and sales for its products. Photographers are given small film and equipment grants and asked to provide Polaroid with one image per grant for the Collection. Exhibitions are created periodically from the

15 Collection and toured throughout the international museum circuit, publicity is generated, portfolios are printed in the media, and books are published. Since 1973, more than 40 exhibitions have been exhibited, including, Aigner s Paris, From My Window (André Kertész), Lucas Samaras: Polaroid Photographs, , and Legacy of Light. In addition to generating positive publicity for the corporation, exhibitions like these illustrate the quality and creative potential of Polaroid films to a wide audience. The 1970s and 80s were a very active period for the Artist Support Program. Hundreds of photographers, working with various instant films, created works of art for themselves and Polaroid. Rosamond Purcell, a Boston artist with an international reputation, says: I started as a photographer with Polaroid films, and my progress has been defined by the materials. This medium encourages play and active participation, and demands that you figure it out as you go along. Because you re generally working from print to print, you can t pretend. You know right away whether it s successful or not. Although artists work in a variety of Polaroid film formats, one of the most exciting ones exploded on the scene in 1978 when the Polaroid 20x24 camera and film system were introduced. Producing a 20x24-inch contact print, the large format camera is renowned for the lush color and crisp black-and-white photographs artists and commercial photographers create. William Wegman made his anthropomorphic Weimaraners famous in these giant photographs, while other artists, including Olivia Parker, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Dawoud Bey and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, explore the creative potential of ultra large format in distinctly different ways. Polaroid s primary commercial 20x24 studio is located in New York City, however, another commercial studio is in Prague, the Checz Republic, to serve the European markets. In Boston, a testament to Polaroid support for photographic education, a 20x24 camera has been loaned to Massachusetts College of Art for use in their art curriculum. Today, The Polaroid Collection stands as a shining example of the quality and diversity of images created in art and industry throughout the world.