Polagrams

Polagrams are a one-of-kind, camera-less Polaroid images made as photograms, a process in which objects are exposed directly on light sensitive paper. Because these images are formed in complete darkness, chance and intuition combine with well-thought-out procedures to create a whimsical effect.

ManRay and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, two photographers I greatly admire, used the photogram technique to create some of their most memorable work. Years ago, when I taught photography, I found the photogram to be a vivid way to demonstrate the basic principles, the essence of photography. I would show students the enlarger, the chemicals, the paper, and we would create instantaneous photographic images in the darkroom by arranging objects on black and white photo paper and exposing the compositions to light for a few seconds. By moving the objects and performing additional exposures, my students could explore all the intonations and gradations inherent in the materials and experience the excitement of watching the image appear in the chemical bath under the safe light.

Remembering this experience, I set out a few years ago to regain for myself that immediate and highly tactile sensation of working directly on the photo paper to create a spontaneous “direct positive”. I was also drawn to the possibilities of working in color without conventional color printing, and the possibility of translating what might be considered an “exercise” into a new way of looking at things. It was a refreshing break with the work I had just completed and, in retrospect, I am aware that this new direction coincided with a significant loss in my personal life; I was seeking new input and the possibility of new modes of output.

The use of Polaroid material to make photograms differs from other methods in that color is available in the paper, and the placement of objects must be carried out in total darkness. I used a varity of transparent, translucent, and opaque materials in the compositions, including colored gels and filters and a small collection of objects that happen to appeal to me, repositioning them in a series of exposures.

The results were unpredictable and sometimes surprising. The intuitive choice of objects, which include a paper puppet, geometric shapes and small tools, their spontaneous arrangement in the frame, and the particular reaction of the highly sensitive Polaroid paper create their own serendipitous effects, sometimes mysterious. The gestures of the figure provide kinetic energy and create a context and connective meaning for the objects, inviting the viewer to create a scenario.

As the rest of the world seems to be rushing away from the presence of the human hand in the creation of a photograph, the Polagrams gave me an opportunity to make the action of the hand integral once more to the process. Each image is completely one-of-a-kind: even with meticulous documentation of the sequence and duration of each manipulation and exposure, the image will come out differently each time.

Just as in real life, the same materials and actions, even in the same hands, yield different results at different times. Discovery is on the high end of the spectrum.

All Polaroid images are originally 10×8 inches; copyright all images John Back

John Back

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