From: Carl Weese (cweese@earthlink.net)
Date: 02/10/01-06:20:41 AM Z
Suzanne,
Strand and Stieglitz were using manufactured platinum paper, not hand
coating, so the most likely explanation is toning and not extra elements
in the emulsion itself. Strand was known to experiment a lot with toning
of both silver and Pt/Pd prints. Also, there was a wide range of
platinum paper available from various manufacturers, in many different
emulsion and paper base colors.
The 'solarized' palladium prints seems to be a questionable curatorial
notion that I saw in the "O'Keefe, Stieglitz and their Circle" show at
the Hartford Athenaem a little while back. Overexposed palladium prints
can reverse out partially, starting in the darkest tones--generally
considered a defect. The prints so labeled in that show (which sounds
*very* similar to the Washington show you describe) just looked like
dark prints to me.
That other show had a wonderful range of prints, along with some of the
non photographic work Stieglitz sponsored, showing a terrific freedom in
use of materials for a wide range of effects. The work was remarkably
free of "rules" about how a print ought to look. They clearly thought
that whatever worked, worked. Hope the Washington version is as good.
---Carl
-- Website with online galleries and workshop information at: http://home.earthlink.net/~cweese/
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