From: Peter Marshall (petermarshall@cix.co.uk)
Date: 03/22/01-06:21:23 PM Z
> Greetings,
>
> Please do not misunderstand me. I am not setting myself up to be an
> expert
> in mordancage. I use the technique and include it my workshops. I have
> seen a handful of Sudre's images, many of Pierre-Louis Martin's, a
> sampling
> of Elizabeth Opalenik's, and Craig Stevens' as well. I have had a
> certain
> amount of discussion with the latter three artists over the past several
> years. They all knew (and revered) Sudre and learned mordancage
> directly
> from him. Sudre was never what anyone would call "forthcoming" with
> details
> of his process - and this process still labors with this legacy.
>
> As I've explained, I was aware of the interest in this process, as well
> as
> the dearth of information available and class time given to it. As it
> is
> related to the unusual split-toning processes I employ in my own work
> and
> was already teaching, and as I became proficient enough with the
> process to
> feel I could do it justice, I have included it in my workshops.
>
> Peter Marshall wrote:
> > silver ferrocyanide is not involved in etch bleaching, but dye
> > toning,
> > where it is acts as the mordant.
>
> There has been a certain amount of confusion about the *mordant* toners
> (like bleach/redevelop sepia etc) and mordancage.... Obviously, the
> words
> share a common root.
>
> But, "Mordancage, as perfected by Jean-Pierre Sudre" - is certainly not
> a
> mordant dye toner - at least in anything like the common usage of the
> term!
> (In spite of the extravagant print coloration that is possible with the
> process.) It is certainly related - perhaps even closely related - to
> the
> historic etch/bleach processes which are variously mentioned in older
> encyclopedias of photography. Mordancage - the name given this process
> by
> Sudre, if my information is correct - is about emulsion lifting - and
> much
> more.
>
> I am respectfully suggesting that Sudre experimented and became
> proficient
> with a particular variation of an historic process and named it
> mordancage.
>
> Sadly Sudre's work is not widely known or seen - and without knowing his
> work - or the work of people such as Pierre-Louis Martin, Craig
> Stevens, or
> Elizabeth Opalenik - this discussion is may be destined to chasing its
> own
> tail.
>
> Last week I spoke with Craig Steven's wife (sadly, now ex-wife). She is
> doing a master's thesis on Sudre and mordancage. She is, perhaps as we
> speak, with Sudre's wife in Provence, trying to clarify a few points. I
> might be able to clarify some of *our* points with her when she returns
> next
> week.
>
> Best - Jon
I am sure that you will find that Sudre used etch bleach (among other
things) because you can see this in his prints. I think he ALSO used
mordancage and tinted the paper base.
As I said before:
>Of course you could do both things on the same print, as well as tinting
>the paper base, and certainly some people who have worked in this kind of
>area did combine various techniques.
However the book quoted is about Mordancage and not etch bleach.
If Sudre choose to use the word with a different meaning then he was
certainly causing some confusion. This confusion may even have been
deliberate as I think he was fairly secretive about his methods.
I think it is more useful to keep using the terms etch bleach and
mordancage in their original senses. The confusion here would seem to
confirm this.
Peter Marshall
Photography Guide at About http://photography.about.com/
email: photography.guide@about.com
_________________________________________________________________
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