Pete
A bon voyeur ! I wonder what one has to do to be good at it. And how did
Luis earn the distinction.
The concept of APIS was thought up for APIS 1997. If people want to apply
the name to the Paris meeting that is no skin off anybody's nose but it
would not be historically accurate.
Just after I joined the list in early 1996 I asked whether people on the
list ever got together together to see what they looked like ! Arising out
of that thread Luis arranged a meeting in Paris. Peter and I sat next to
eachother on Eurostar on the way to the meeting. This seemed a good idea
at the time but subsequently dire political interpretations were put upon
this convenient contiguity. The meeting lasted just over two hours. It was
enjoyable and worthwhile. We had a good lunch afterwards. Some of us went
to the RPS exhibition on early British photography. We had tea at the flat
of a friend of Luis where we had group photographs,( where all except one
person was using an Olympus Mju).
The following year I set up the three day symposium in Bath at the RPS who
made their lecture theatre available to us. The local authority, Bath and
North East Somerset, were also very helpful We had people from sixteen
countries,including Russia, the US and Australia, speaking thirteen
different languages. We had a series of papers on matters practical,
scientific and historical.
One reason I had in mind for organising the Symposium was that as many of
us are isolated it is difficult to establish standards. I hoped that we
would be able to get work of the highest standards so that we could set
apirational goals. We certainly did that. Some of the world's finest
practicioners, professional and amateur, of platinum, bromoil, carbon, gum
and gravure were at APIS 1997 in Bath and showed their work
Luis could not come as there was no international convention that could
bring him to Europe at the same time. He also told me that he suspected
that it was an exercise for the amusement of those in early retirement.
This may have been because it was not organised by a museum or college.
The name APIS was thought up around my kitchen table for the 1997 symposium
in Bath and we designed the logo for APIS 1997 which others are welcome to
use. .We hope that APIS 1998 will be in Oporto, APIS 1999 in Santa Fe and
APIS 2000 in Cologne. .Florence might be a worthwhile centre for
consideration in 2001.. And in the new world, Brazil in 2002 ?
The logo was a visual pun on the benzene ring,the basis of most developers,
and the honey bee's cell; APIS being the latin for bee and honey was used
to keep wet collodion damp before development. There was also a play on
words between APIS and symposium which was originally a discussion over
wine.
Terry King
Looking forward to your opening on Saturday.