I am sure everyone here is familiar with Richard Benson. His
new book, The Printed Picture, as to be expected is beautifully printed.
I thought this quote from the book might stoke some fire
here:
Page 114
"Gum bichromate did allow the artist who developed the
print a great deal of tonal control, and the process did become a favorite of
the photographers working in the Pictorial style just after the turn of the
20th century, when ideas about painting and photography became muddled
together. It is a poor process, which we see here at its best in this
landscape made in French town about 1910. Despite its occasional successes, gum
bichromate is a poor process, unable to render the clear and beautiful tonalities
that lie at the core of the photographic medium."
Obviously he has not seen some of the work of the better
contemporary workers in this medium. Benson has done much to promote
photography, he's a MacArthur prize recipient and Dean of the Yale Art Dept.
It's an odd statement coming from such a knowledgeable source.
I have part 1 of a review of this book on my blog, Swings
and Tilts, found at:
http://bostick-sullivan.invisionzone.com/index.php