[alt-photo] prints that leave our hands

[Diana Bloomfield]

Hi Peter,

Well, do keep us posted on what happens when the PVA sits in the sun  
or in the freezer.  The results will be interesting.

I always wonder what happens to my prints when they leave my hands,  
too-- but not so much from a conservation viewpoint.  Some pinhole  
friends of mine told me, about a year ago, that they were in an  
"antique" store out in NM, and one of my prints was sitting up there--  
all framed and matted-- for sale.  Sad, but true.  I have no idea who  
originally bought it, and since I know I didn't sell it to anyone in  
NM, I often wonder how it made its way out there.  I hope it had a  
good trip.  I did ask if it had held up (it was a b&w hand-tinted  
print, so I wondered if it was one of those I hadn't fixed long  
enough) :)  But they said it looked great and still held up.  They at  
least liked it enough to turn it over to see who had made it.  The  
best part was-- the store was asking a higher price for it than I know  
I had originally put on it.  So I felt good about that.  Still, there  
it was-- sitting in some dark corner, far from its original home--  
unsold.  And then I went to a charity auction once, and saw a  
photograph hanging up for sale that I really liked.  I got right up on  
it, and realized why I was so drawn to it.  It was mine.  So it seems  
when people decide to clean out their homes, my prints are the first  
to go.  On the other hand, the one I saw also still looked great-- no  
fading and no yellowing. And since I was initially so drawn to it, at  
least I like to think I have a consistent vision. :)


On Mar 5, 2010, at 3:06 PM, Peter Blackburn wrote:

>
>
> Hi Diana:
>
>
>
> Still, I have a few small swatches of papers coated with various  
> dilutions of Gamblin PVA sitting in full sun, under fluorescent  
> bulbs, and even in the freezer. I just want to know firsthand what  
> might happen, especially under adverse conditions (as imperfect and  
> incomplete as my testing methods may be), when a print leaves my  
> hands into the hands of a buyer. I've done it with my pigments and  
> paper, so this is par for the course with me.
>
>