theoriesanddocuments

[theoriesanddocuments]

Anna Atkins (British 1799–1871). In the 19th century, Anna Atkins made cyanotype of impressions of algae and ferns, and published these images in what were the first books ever to be illustrated using a photographic process. Both Judy and Kristin have made pictures directly from leaves and other parts of plants. The next few posts contain images created using photographic methods, minus the camera, as well as other approaches to directly recording elements of the natural world.

Dictyota dichotoma in the young state, & in fruit from Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions 1849-1850. Cyanotype. Source.

Alaria esculenta, from Part XII of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions 1849-1850. Cyanotype. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Christian Marclay (American and Swiss, b. 1955). Marclay uses cyanotype, the same process Anna Atkins used to make her botanical studies, to study the physical manifestation of recorded sound, in this case cassette tape and cassette tape boxes. The image titled Allover has the proportions and general appearance of a Jackson Pollock drip painting.

Allover (LeVert, Barbara Streisand and Others) 2009. Cyanotype, 56 1/2 x 105 inches. Source.

Grid No. 3 (Full and Empty Cassettes) 2012. Cyanotype, 27 1/2 x 34 1/4 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky) (American 1890-1976). Here, Man Ray subverts the photographic process by making a photogram--in which objects are placed on a sheet of photographic paper and exposed to light--of a loose spool of photographic negatives.

Rayograph 1923. Gelatin silver print (photogram), 11 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Adam Fuss (British b. 1961). Fuss makes photogram images of flowers, among other objects, but also uses the process to record evanescent occurrences, such as drips falling onto the surface of a shallow pool of water.

Untitled (Sunflowers) 1993. Cibachrome photogram, 40 x 30 inches. Source.

Untitled (Sunflowers) 1993. Cibachrome photogram, 40 x 30 inches. Source.

Untitled 1988. Cibachrome photogram, 10 x 7 1/2 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Klea McKenna (American b. 1980). Like Fuss, McKenna is interested in capturing the ephemeral, such as raindrops collecting on a surface during a storm. More here.

Rainstorm 9 2014. Silver gelatin photogram, 34 x 42 inches.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Meghann Riepenhoff (American b. 1979). Riepenhoff uses the same chemical process Anna Atkins used to record plants, only she places her sensitized papers outdoors, directly exposed to rain, wind, and sunlight, effectively capturing the weather. As the title suggests, this image was made on a beach in cold, icy weather. More here.

Ice #472 (30-41°F, WA Beach Overwash, 03.05-6.23) 2023. Unique dynamic cyanotype, 34 x 46 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Sam Falls (American b. 1984). Falls does not use a photographic process; instead, he simply arranges collected flowers and plants on a canvas and sprays paint over the top. The third image, like the earlier Christian Marclay cyanotype, has the scale and general appearance of a Jackson Pollock painting.

Dusk 2023. Pigment on canvas, 42 x 36 inches. Source.

Outside the Frame 2022. Pigment on canvas, 74 x 60 inches. Source.

Untitled (Topanga State Park) 2018. Pigment on canvas, 11 feet x 21 feet 4 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Diana Scherer (German, lives in Netherlands, b. 1971). A bit of a detour from the rest of the images in this series: Scherer sprouts seeds on a textured surface, causing the roots to follow the patterns of the surface and creating patterned organic textiles.

Hyper Rhizome 01-2024 2024. Plant root textile, 22 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches. Source.

Hyper Rhizome #2. Plant root textile, 72 3/4 x 47 1/4 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Ellsworth Kelly (American 1923-2015). Kelly's botanical studies are painted, approximately life-size, from observation. They compare well with the Anna Atkins cyanotypes in the first of this series of posts.

Wild Grape 1960. Ink on paper, 16 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches. Source.

Avocado 1959. Oil on paper, 16 5/8 x 13 7/8 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Ellsworth Kelly (American 1923-2015). Somewhat unrelated to the preceding series of nature studies, Kelly's disarmingly simple postcard collage pieces are always worth looking at. I thought they'd make a good conclusion to our current session. Adding only a few cut and torn pieces of paper, the artist converts each found image into a distinctly Ellsworth Kelly-like composition.

Brooklyn Bridge II 1985. Collage on postcard, 4 1/8 x 5 7/8 inches. Source.

Four Greens, Upper Manhattan Bay 1957. Collage on postcard, 3 1/4 x 5 inches. Source.

Columbus Circle 1957. Collage on postcard, 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Source.

Statue of Liberty 1957. Collage on postcard, 5 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Romare Bearden (American 1911-1988). Green Torches Welcome New Ghosts 1961. Oil on canvas, 60 x 50 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Iulia Nistor (Romanian, lives and works in Brazil, b. 1985).

Evidence L2 F/W0 A9 2022. Oil on wood, 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches.

Evidence L5 W8 P1 2022. Oil on wood, 19 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Mary Ann Peters (American b. 1949).

what remains 2012. Watercolor and gouache on clayboard, 48 x 36 inches.

this trembling turf (the waters) 2018. White pigment ink on black clayboard, 60 x 48 inches.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Tricia Gillman (British, b. 1951).

Silver Wind 1990. Oil on canvas, 48 x 59 3/4 inches. Source.

Head Series: Forest 1989. Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Shara Hughes (American b. 1981).

Sweet Sweet Fantasy 2019. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 68 x 60 inches. Source.

My Fenced Energy 2019. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 78 x 66 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Stanley Whitney (American b. 1946). Untitled 1979. Acrylic on canvas, 44 3/4 x 69 1/2 inches. Source.

[theoriesanddocuments]

Frank Bowling (British born in British Guiana, 1934). Middle Passage 1971. Acrylic on canvas, 127 x 110 5/8 inches. Source.