Giant Paper
During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, I took some time away from my photogram business to be a part-time homeschool teacher. (Although I had a lovely student, my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach to life was not conducive to teaching.). During this time, I was fortunate to receive an Artist Support Grant from the Arts Council of Wilmington, NC. This project support grant covered the cost of giant (30x40 inch) photo paper and the developer to process it.
Up until I received the grant, I made my photograms on no larger than 20” x 24” paper. Since photograms are true-to-size, paper size plays a major role in the overall composition, based on the subject size. For example, if I want to make a photogram of an antique Christening gown that is approximately 16” across and 32” long, I can only fit a portion of the gown on the 20” x 24” paper. I do this regularly and I like the challenge of highlighting the most intriguing details of the garment. I like to thoughtfully use negative space in the images to allow room for the viewer to envision their own details. I also create diptychs and triptychs by placing two or three pieces of paper together and laying the garment across all the sheets. While I can fit more of a garment with this method, I have to consider the paper breaks in the overall composition. For example, I once made a triptych of a vintage slip. I used three pieces of 20” X 24” paper, but the composition didn’t work with the breaks in the paper. I cut the paper down to 18” x 24” and the composition was exactly what I wanted. By using 30” x 40” paper, I can use larger garments in different ways. I can create new compositions on a single sheet of larger paper or on multiple sheets for diptychs or triptychs.
The main enlarger I use in my darkroom allows me to print up to 20” x 24” with ease. It’s large and sturdy and bolted to the ceiling and wall so it doesn’t tip over. To print a 20” x 24” photogram, the light from the enlarger is roughly 40 inches away from the surface of the paper. The paper rests on the counter with the enlarger head above. For larger photograms, I actually use a simpler, lighter enlarger. Because it has fewer components, the enlarger head can be turned around, allowing me to print on the floor rather than the counter. The enlarger base sits at the edge of the counter, with the enlarger head leaning out over the floor. With this setup, the light from the enlarger can be as much as 6 feet away from the surface of the paper. The wider the circle of light, the larger the overall image.
Needing some darkroom therapy after the stress of homeschool teaching, I was anxious for my paper to arrive. After months of backorder notices, the paper was finally scheduled to ship. Due to its size and value, though, it required a signature upon delivery. The day of the paper’s arrival, I was away from the house for about 10 minutes to pick up my daughter at summer camp. Of course, it was during that ten minutes that the Fed Ex truck tried to make it’s delivery at my house. As my daughter and I were driving back into the neighborhood from camp, I noticed the FedEx truck driving away from our street. I had waited so long for that giant paper, I just wasn’t going to wait another day. My daughter and I went on a low-speed chase through the neighborhood, after the FedEx truck. The truck had turned onto a dead-end street, so I knew I’d catch it eventually. The truck pulled-up alongside a neighborhood house and I pulled up alongside the truck. A quick chat with the super-nice FedEx driver and he agreed to swing back by my house on is way out of the neighborhood. A few hours later I had my paper. Hurrah!
I was surprised at the amount of physical effort required to make these large photograms. With smaller photograms I stand at a counter-height enlarger with chemicals in a counter-height sink. With the larger paper I print and develop on the floor, so there is a lot of kneeling, stooping bending and moving around. It’s mentally and physically exhausting but all in a good way.
Another surprise while creating the larger photograms was uneven development. Typically, the full sheet of photo paper goes face-down into a tray of developer, thus ensuring the full surface area of the paper is in contact with the developer at all times during the development phase. Because of the size of this paper, I used trough-like trays and see-sawed the paper back and forth in the developer. This caused the uneven development. I was briefly concerned about this, but decided to embrace it, realizing it added another element to the images. This type of photogram would typically have an even, consistent, black or dark gray background. With the 30x40 paper and the trough for development, there are streaks, drips and uneven patches in the black and gray areas. If I were using a computer, I could make the images flawless and even. But I’m not interested in using a computer and I’m not interested in creating flawless images.