A thin layer of hardened gelatin, it rests atop the gelatin binder as another layer of protection for the surface of the print. Finally, an overcoat (or topcoat) is applied. The photograph is developed out, meaning it is made visible through exposure to the chemical reducing solution. A gelatin binder holds the silver grains of the photographic image an ideal binder, it is tough, resistant to abrasion once dry, and swells to allow processing solutions to penetrate. Artists who desire more textured surfaces can use a variety of textured felts, either before or after drying the paper, dependent on the preferred effect. Coated with a layer of baryta, a white opaque pigment mixed with gelatin and barium sulfate, the sensitized paper creates a smooth surface. The base, or support, is usually paper ideal because it is lightweight and flexible, paper or canvas are also strong enough to withstand the multiple steps and handling required. To develop a silver gelatin print, an image that consists of silver metal particles suspended in a gelatin layer, the artist applies an emulsion of light-sensitive silver salts in gelatin to a base. Like all photography, the process is based on light sensitivity in this case, for that of a chemical compound of sliver halides. Popularized in the 1920s and 1930s, this style partnered with the transition of photography from pictorialism into modernism, photojournalism, and “pure” photography. In fact, early prints were of poor quality until coating machines for the production of continuous rolls of sensitized paper were introduced in the 1890s, giving them the smooth and glossy shine we attribute to them today. Despite this, silver gelatins are multi-layered structures that require specialized coating equipment and fastidious technique to ensure consistent end results free of damaging impurities. An advancement on the collodian wet-plate technique, dominant in the 1850s-1880s, silver gelatin prints can be exposed and developed years after their manufacture. The most commonly used chemical process for black-and-white photography, and the fundamental process for modern analog color photography, silver gelatin prints were introduced by Richard Leach Maddox in 1871 and refined by Charles Harper Bennett in 1878. Like what you might find under a microscope in biology class, Dunn’s silvery touch beautifies what we might otherwise shy from. The correlation between these themes points to the patterns found across nature, connecting humanity with the cosmos. The luminous forms, depicted like constellations, were made using the artist’s own DNA: her hair, saliva, and fingerprints. The silver gelatin print by Claire Dunn is, indeed, silver! Giving off 90s scratch paper vibes, Dunn’s iridescent photo explores the conversations between earthly matter, DNA, and star constellations. Rotary Dial Phone, from the Curious Devices series. New Perspectives, from the Earthstars series. Below is a silver gelatin print and an archival pigment print: Claire Dunn, Argentinian, b. With The National: Best Contemporary Photography 2022now on view at FWMoA, it’s an opportune time to explore these photographic processes and the reasons for choosing them. In the same way a label next to a painting doesn’t say “painting” (the final product) but “oil on canvas” or “acrylic on wood” (the materials), the institution is giving you insight into the artistic process to understand the artist, the work, and the visual narrative. It is! A museum or gallery, however, is not referring to the final product (the photograph) but to the materials or process that made it (silver gelatin). What does that mean? Isn’t a photograph a photograph? When looking at photography in a fine art museum or gallery, the label lists the medium, or material, not as photograph but “silver gelatin print”, “archival pigment print”, “giclée print”, or something else entirely. “Why don’t they just say ‘photograph’?” is a question I’ve heard uttered in the FWMoA galleries multiple times.
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