It seems fitting that amid passionate cries for the return of Polaroid film, the National Gallery of Art should present a new exhibit tracing the development of photographic processes.
“In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes Before the Digital Age,” shows the constant experimentation of chemicals, technology and artistry that led to the development of digital photography. Instead of assuming a “kids these days don’t even know what a negative looks like” tone, the exhibit instead places digital photography in its artistic context.
From the bruised-purple tones of the earliest salted paper prints to the startling crispness and color of the later chromogenic prints, the exhibit shows how photography has always been framed by the same creative impulses regardless of technological limitations.
Curators Sarah Kennel and Diane Waggoner pulled together works from the NGA photography collection to showcase the diversity of photographic processes artists once had at their disposal. The exhibit features 24 of the most commonly used processes since the advent of photography. Displaying these forms in progression highlights how much choice and artistry goes into what seems to be such an immediate medium.
The exhibit begins with Henry Fox Talbot’s invention of photography and the advent of the salted paper print. These prints have an incredibly soft, almost velvety finish, but lack the range of tones and crispness one expects of photography.
“How charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durable and remain fixed on the paper,” Talbot wrote. “And why should it not be possible?”
Progressing into the development and popularity of the albumen print in the second half of the 19th century, the medium’s somewhat contradictory search for greater verisimilitude and artistic capacity emerges. For example, in the albumen print “Fruit and Flowers,” photographer Roger Fenton introduces a new lushness of detail to the medium. One can imagine reaching into the painting and picking a grape off the table.
The second half of the 19th century thus marked an exciting and experimental era of photography in which new methods constantly emerged. What process to use was just as important of an artistic choice as how to frame the picture.
And then there is color! When the exhibit finally arrives at the more familiar, modern processes of chromogenic color and silver dye prints, the crispness of color is almost overwhelming. These two techniques were the most immediate predecessors of the development of digital technology. Thus, the capacity of these processes to capture reality with its full range of color seems all the more remarkable, considering the medium’s artistic heritage. Seeing each process in context highlights what new technological developments add and take away from the medium.
It’s rare to see an exhibit linked by process rather than subject. As a result, “In the Darkroom” showcases the diversity of what artists can create using the same tools. This exhibit is a celebration of the creativity that continues to push photography forward. One can almost imagine digital photography in a similar exhibit centuries in the future, with college students much like us marveling at the limitations of our technology.
“In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes Before the Digital Age” runs through March 14.
You can reach this staff writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
