True to my promise, I did attend the College Art Association conference in
Boston in February, selling an adequate number of "Mutiny"s, & gleaning a
few items of Alt-photo interest:
We (Midmarch Arts Press) shared table with Pinhole Resource person Eric
Renner. Clearly pinhole continues to gain momentum. Even our most
dedicated readers sidled over to fondle Eric's handmades.
I'd guess 1/3 of exhibitors in huge convention hall were sellers or makers
of art supplies, up sharply since my last CAA in 1994, and a dramatic
change from 20 years ago when Mark Golden, a mere broth of a boy appearing
for the family firm, Golden Acrylic s, was the one & only. We discussed
yellowing of acrylic as contemplated on this list last year. He said
yellowing of acrylic paintings on cotton canvas had indeed given the firm
a fair scare, but then they uncovered some early acrylic tests on glass
that showed no yellowing at all. Subsequent testing proved the
discoloration was due to impurities in canvas seeping through gesso, which
is not a true isolating layer. The problem is easily avoided, Golden said,
by washing the canvas down with plain water before gessoing or painting.
There were many other opportunities to talk pigments, media, surfactants,
brushes, etc. and to bring home samples for testing. Lascaux has a new
"artists' watercolor" in squeeze bottles, Aquacryl, acrylic-based but
formulated to remain soluble in water when dry. And it seems to work for
gum printing, sort of -- the first colors I tried, permanent blue and
permanent red, didn't *fully* clear, but still show promise. The big
advantage of the squeeze bottle, of course, is that it permits precise
measurement of pigment *in drops* for small emulsion batches. Lascaux also
has gouache in squeeze bottles, which I have yet to try. (Some printers
mix a large quantity of paint-in-gum that they then measure out by dropper
or syringe, but the paint soon sinks to bottom, is hard to remix.) There
were also several other new kinds of gouache, to be tested.
I bought two Yarka Siberian Squirrel brushes (#8 & #10, $5.89 and $10.39
list), at 30% show discount (tho I offer my NYC backyard squirrel free to
whoever will catch it). These brushes work well for the tragic times
(which come to all, I confess) when one must brush a gum print, the soft
squirrel hair the least destructive method I've found to date. And these
particular squirrel brushes are not only better than cotton wands & wads,
they're better than my old squirrel brush (and what new thing these days
is ever better than the old one!?) for that painful task & I intend to
look for them in smaller sizes as well.
Also for the first time at CAA, the distributor of Isabey Kolinsky sable
retouching brushes -- a very short brush with a relatively fat base, the
best (the only!) brush for retouching or spotting photos. (Rep told me
he'd been advised not to bother promoting to photographers as all printing
is now digital; I said not quite yet.)
Paper: I think this was Hahnemuhl paper's first time at CAA. They do not
offer free samples, noting that "Brush manufacturers never have a free
trial brush." But you can buy $40 worth of paper to try (otherwise they
sell only to dealers). I ordered several 300 gsm/140 lb papers from the
display (yes, I may put those thin papers on hold [tho, PS,I did a perfect
one-coat gum print on thinnish drawing paper tonight, unless I jinx it by
bragging!], will report in due time. List prices average $3 per 22 by 30
inch sheet for heavy, less for light papers.
Hahnemuhl is imported to US by Atlantic Papers, PO Box 1158, Lemont, PA
16851, phone 800/367-8547, fax 800/367-1016. Retailers include New York
Central (which, agent said, is very willing to order additions to those in
stock) and Talas in NYC, Dick Blick , a large mail-order company, etc.
List of retailers is available.
***** But cyanotype printers take note: **ALL** Hahnemuhl papers are 2%
buffered, a condition NOT advisable for cyanotype************
As for books, the only new one I saw of alt-photo interest was "Betty
Hahn, Photography or Maybe Not" by Steve Yates, University of New Mexico
Press, $39.95 paperback, 125 color plates plus 70 b&w. A stunning book
about an innovative artist whose non-silver photos are among best in the
media.
Also I believe for first time at CAA, Focal Press had a table, but three
of their recent manuals NEED IMPROVEMENT, so I will say no more.
But permit me to mention Midmarch's latest, an anthology of A. D.
Coleman's essays from 1979 to 1989,"Tarnished Silver," intro by James
Enyeart. Coleman was first photo critic at NY Times, remains one of the
most provocative (and readable) photo writers, even agrees with me on
occasion. Midmarch Arts Press, 300 Riverside Drive, NYC 10025, 212/
666-6990, $20 plus $3 shipping.
Evenings we had museum tours: "Winslow Homer" at The Fine Arts Museum had
many of his remarkable watercolors to inspire a gum printer with just how
rich layers of water-based pigments can be. Other wonders of pigment on
paper included early Indian miniatures at the Sackler Museum, especially
Stuart Cary Welch's gift "in honor of Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis," a
14th-century woodland scene in luminous shades of green. The pigment was
malachite, which changes color with fineness of grind, a passing expert
explained. (As does metallic silver, and pl/pd too, I understand.)
There were also panel discussions, papers, convocations, meetings,
ceremonies, and receptions, which, fortunately, I missed.
Judy