From: Steve Shapiro (sgshiya@redshift.com)
Date: 02/24/00-12:29:22 AM Z
Allan, whose spelling is different than Alan Klotz, director/owner of the
Alan Klotz gallery, whos commentary I surely don't mind forwarding onto our
alt photo list; as Coleman does not subscribe for his interests don't
include the actual craft with our zeal.
"These are exciting times, for photography; because at this time, this day
and age; we can enjoy the active persuit of collecting the work of new art
in every known process including digital. Digital art in a form that never
even materializes but remains in the form of electricity." A.D. Coleman said
in Carmel, last January, 2000; and what I write is para-phrased to the best
of my memory.
Steve Shapiro, Carmel, CA
----- Original Message -----
From: coda <coda@con2.com>
To: Steve Shapiro <sgshiya@redshift.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 7:02 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Fw: Fw: William Mortensen Mystery
> Dear Steve Shapiro:
> Thanks for forwarding on those responses. Please post this for me. (And
> if you're going to use my first name, could I trouble you to spell it
> correctly?)
>
> Contrary to Judy Seigel's suggestion, I wasn't "confusing Mortensen with
> Wm H Fox Talbot, who patented the calotype." An amusing notion, but trust
> me when I say that I know the difference. The Occam's razor principle
> leads rather to the conclusion that I may simply have been wrong. At the
> same time, I'm not convinced that I made this up entirely.
> Having spent some time in the Mortensen archives at the Center for
> Creative Photography in Tucson, I dimly recall something intimating this.
> It may of course have been only some discussion of Mortensen's desire to
> apply for a patent, or even something indicating that he'd filed the
> application for a patent, rather than anything indicating the actual
> granting of a patent by the patent office. (A check with the patent
> office would at least tell us whether an application was ever lodged. Of
> course, even had he applied for one, unless and until such a patent was
> granted Mortensen -- like any inventor -- would have kept the process
> secret, to protect it.)
> Still, I may simply have imagined this. Unfortunately, we'll probably
> never know. Mortensen's papers were variously discarded and dispersed
> after his death; many of them -- including his technical notes and
> research materials -- were lent by his widow Myrdith to one Jacques de
> Lange, and have yet to be recovered. However, there are numerous former
> students of Mortensen's still living, and among them are some who learned
> the Metal-Krome process (and his other processes) from Mortensen. So the
> method is certainly retrievable by anyone who cares to do the spadework.
> Perhaps Judy might track this down for her journal.
> Another trail to pursue in this regard is Mortensen's friendship with
> Paul Outerbridge, which began in 1943, when Outerbridge moved to Laguna
> Beach, CA, where Mortensen had established his home and studio and
> school. According to materials in the Outerbridge archive, the two
> lunched together frequently, and spent a good bit of time talking shop
> talk, especially concerning the carbro process and the Metal-Krome method.
>
> Regards,
> Allan Coleman
>
>
> ***********************
> A. D. Coleman
> 465 Van Duzer Street
> Staten Island, NY 10304-2029 USA
> T (718) 447-3280 / F (718) 447-3091
> adc@nearbycafe.com
> "C:the Speed of Light" at:
> http://www.nearbycafe.com/adc/adc.html
>
> "Colemanšs writing is smart, informed, and challenging. The Digital
> Evolution should be required reading for all educators, students and
> practitioners of photography."
> -- Kitty Hubbard, Afterimage
>
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