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Bert Stern, 1958,
“Louis Armstrong”
Deborah Turbeville, 1973, "“The Forgotten Girl”
Chuck Close, 1979,
“Self Portrait”
Robert Mapplethorpe,
“Patti Smith Detail “ 1979 ©The Estate of Robert Mapplethorpe.
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INNOVATION / IMAGINATION
50 Years of Polaroid Photography
May 12 - July 18, 1999
A little over five decades ago, Edwin H. Land, a scientist and
the founder of Polaroid Corporation, invented instant photography
and revolutionized the medium. From the start, Polaroid collaborated
with established and emerging artists as diverse as Ansel Adams,
Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Judy Dater, Robert Mapplethorpe, David
Hockney, Nancy Burson, and Lucas Samaras, exchanging cameras and
film for exhibition-quality fine art photographs that reflect
artistic innovation and creative experimentation with Polaroid
materials.
Over 80 superb works by the above and more than 50 other artists
have been selected from Polaroid's archive of 23,000 images for
inclusion in the exhibition, INNOVATION/IMAGINATION. 50 Years of Polaroid Photography 1947-1997, which opens Wednesday, May 12, and runs through Sunday, July
18.
It was Land's young daughter who, in 1944, planted the seed of
the idea for his remarkable invention. They were vacationing in
New Mexico and Land had just photo-graphed her when she asked
why she couldn't see the picture he had taken, now. "Land quickly
envisioned the idea of one-step photography; it then took him
an hour to visualize the requirements for a camera, film and chemistry
system By 1947 an instant sepia film was introduced to the world,"
writes Barbara Hitchcock, Director of Cultural Affairs, Polaroid
Corporation, in her introduction to INNOVATION/IMAGINATION - 50 Years of Polaroid Photography, the 120 page book being published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. to
accompany the exhibition.
The purpose of inventing instant photography was essentially aesthetic-to
make available a new medium of expression to numerous individuals
who have an artistic interest in the world around them" said Land.
'The process must be concealed from-nonexistent for--the photographer
who, by definition need think of the art in taking and not in
making photographs..."
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All images courtesy of the Polaroid Collection, except Pour Ma
Fille, Mabou, by Robert Frank, which is courtesy of PaceWildensteinMcGill.
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