martin mcgagh

museumuesum:

John Cyr

Developer Trays, 2010-2012

archival pigment prints, 28” x 24”

Ansel Adams’ Developer Tray, 2011

Andrea Modica’s Developer Tray, 2011

Lillian Bassman’s Developer Tray, 2010

Eileen Travell’s Developer Tray, 2010

Andreas Feininger’s Developer Tray, 2010

Joni Sternbach’s Developer Tray, 2011

Sally Mann’s Developer Tray, 2011

Wynn Bullock’s Developer Tray, 2011

O. Winston Link’s Developer Tray, 2011

Tom Baril’s Developer Tray, 2012

From the mid nineteenth century until today, silver gelatin printing has been one of the most utilized photographic processes.  From classic reportage to fine art photography, the majority of it was performed in a black and white darkroom until the mid-1970’s.  As recently as 2000, black and white darkroom classes still served as the location for introduction to photography courses. The digital advances in photography over the past ten years have been remarkable. I am photographing available developer trays so that the photography community will remember specific, tangible printing tools that have been a seminal part of the photographic experience for the past hundred years.  By titling each tray with its owner’s name, I reference the historical significance of these objects in a minimal manner that evokes thought and introspection about what images have passed through each individual tray.