8 The Pigment Processes Photographic Processes Series Chapter 8 of 10

Summary

The video delves into photography's evolution as a fine art, focusing on early printing techniques like the gum bichromate and carbon print processes, which use light-sensitive chromium salts and pigments. Pioneers such as Ponton and Joseph Swan contributed to perfecting these techniques, producing highly durable images. The pictorialist movement, led by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, emphasized photography as an art form, with craftsmanship and creative input. Their work promoted photography’s artistic potential, challenging the idea that it was merely an automatic process.

Takeaways

• 📸 Photography has always sought to create permanent images using stable processes like Woodberry type and Platinum printing.
• 💡 The gum bichromate process and carbon print process belong to the pigment family of printing methods.
• 🔬 Poton was the first to experiment with the light sensitivity of chromium salts, which was key to developing gum printing.
• 🖌️ Gum prints involve mixing pigments with a colloid like Gum Arabic, then hardening it using sunlight to create images.
• 🌞 In gum printing, light exposure hardens certain areas, while unexposed areas dissolve in water, leaving a textured image.
• 🇫🇷 Alphonse Poitevin, a Frenchman, perfected certain aspects of chromium-based printing, which led to the carbon printing process.
• 🧪 Carbon printing uses gelatin-coated paper sensitized with chromium salts to create highly durable, continuous-tone photographs.
• 🖼️ The pictorialist movement, led by Alfred Stieglitz, helped establish photography as a fine art using hand-crafted methods.
• 📖 Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen promoted photography as an art form through their publication *Camera Work* and the 291 Gallery.
• 🎨 The core debate in early photography revolved around the artist's creative input in photography and whether it should be considered an art form.

Q & A

What are some of the major themes in photography discussed in the script?

One of the major themes discussed is the desire for a more permanent image in photography, achieved through long-lasting processes such as the Woodberry type, Platinum print, gum bichromate process, and carbon print process.

What is the basis of the gum bichromate process?

The gum bichromate process is based on the light sensitivity of chromium compounds. When mixed with colloids like gelatin or gum and exposed to sunlight, the colloid hardens, allowing pigments to be selectively deposited on the paper.

Who was the first person to experiment with the light sensitivity of chromium compounds?

Mungo Ponton was the first person to experiment with the light sensitivity of chromium compounds, and Toan later conducted his own experiments with chromium salts, leading to the development of new photographic processes.

How does the gum bichromate process work in practice?

In practice, gum arabic mixed with pigment and sensitized with chromium salts is brushed onto paper. After exposure to light under a negative, the areas struck by light harden and retain the dark pigment, while unexposed areas dissolve in water, leaving the white of the paper.

What is the visual effect of a gum print?

A gum print shows a slight relief. Darker areas of the image have a thicker deposit of gum, while lighter areas expose more of the actual paper surface.

Who is associated with perfecting elements of chromium printing?

Alfons Platan, a Frenchman, is associated with perfecting elements of chromium printing, which eventually led to improvements by Joseph Swan and the development of carbon printing.

What is carbon printing and how does it work?

Carbon printing involves coating a piece of paper with gelatin that bears pigment. This 'tissue' is sensitized with chromium and contact-printed with a negative. After exposure, the gelatin hardens in response to light, and unhardened areas are washed away in warm water, leaving behind a continuous-tone photograph.

What was the pictorialist movement's contribution to photography?

The pictorialist movement established photography as a fine art form, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and manual processes like the gum bichromate and platinum print. It highlighted the artist's role in creating photographic objects rather than just automatic image production.

Who was Alfred Stieglitz and what was his role in the development of photography as an art form?

Alfred Stieglitz was a key figure in promoting photography as an art form. He co-founded the photo-secession movement with Edward Steichen and used his gallery, 291, and the publication Camera Work to advocate for photography's legitimacy in the art world.

What type of camera lens did Alfred Stieglitz use, and why was it significant?

Alfred Stieglitz used a lens designed for pictorialist photography. The aperture of the lens determined the sharpness of the image. When opened wider, it produced softer edges, which aligned with the pictorialist style that emphasized the artist's intervention in creating softer, more painterly images.