Using light, silver paper, maybe a negative, and chemicals to create an image, this series of images tests the boundaries of what we consider to be a photograph.
Blind Faith
“Photography has always been a medium of controversy. Does it mimic painting, does painting mimic photography? Is it reality or fantasy? What are the morals and ethics of taking a photograph? This collection of photographs tests the boundaries of what we consider to be a ‘photograph.’
Technically speaking, the process of photography is centered on the manipulation of light. These photos and the process I used in the darkroom all hearken back to the original understanding and process of photography: using light, silver paper, maybe a negative, and chemicals to create an image. These photos are intended to use the process of darkroom photography (light and chemistry) to go beyond the negative image, to create a photograph that we might not necessarily think of as a ‘photograph.’
My process involves painting, writing, and photographing with light. I use a paintbrush to brush on the image or words with developer, leaving the border of the paper undeveloped, so that when I expose the paper to light, the image appears, and the paper exposes itself. There are three distinctly different kinds of images that make up the series. Some of the images say simple things such as ‘A Photo,’ ‘Photography,’ ‘Blind Faith,’ ‘Farewell my Love’; other photographs are enlargements of my nude female portrait series; and, others are simply an exploration of how different chemicals react to light.
I call this series Blind Faith because the process occurs primarily in the dark. I cannot see when to stop brushing on the developer or, in fact where to place the developer. I do not know what the outcome will be when I expose the photograph to light, nor how long I should expose the photograph. Since some of the photographs are not entirely fixed, they change colors as they are exposed to light over time. These photographs have gone from white to tan to blue to gray, and I expect they may ultimately disappear entirely. It is an act of faith that I am producing. This process asks the fundamental question ‘what is a photograph?’”—Aria Mickenberg
"Blind Faith" was originally developed with Professor Rita Barros in a spring 2016 Independent Study.
Technically speaking, the process of photography is centered on the manipulation of light. These photos and the process I used in the darkroom all hearken back to the original understanding and process of photography: using light, silver paper, maybe a negative, and chemicals to create an image. These photos are intended to use the process of darkroom photography (light and chemistry) to go beyond the negative image, to create a photograph that we might not necessarily think of as a ‘photograph.’
My process involves painting, writing, and photographing with light. I use a paintbrush to brush on the image or words with developer, leaving the border of the paper undeveloped, so that when I expose the paper to light, the image appears, and the paper exposes itself. There are three distinctly different kinds of images that make up the series. Some of the images say simple things such as ‘A Photo,’ ‘Photography,’ ‘Blind Faith,’ ‘Farewell my Love’; other photographs are enlargements of my nude female portrait series; and, others are simply an exploration of how different chemicals react to light.
I call this series Blind Faith because the process occurs primarily in the dark. I cannot see when to stop brushing on the developer or, in fact where to place the developer. I do not know what the outcome will be when I expose the photograph to light, nor how long I should expose the photograph. Since some of the photographs are not entirely fixed, they change colors as they are exposed to light over time. These photographs have gone from white to tan to blue to gray, and I expect they may ultimately disappear entirely. It is an act of faith that I am producing. This process asks the fundamental question ‘what is a photograph?’”—Aria Mickenberg
"Blind Faith" was originally developed with Professor Rita Barros in a spring 2016 Independent Study.