Photograms

Photograms history...

Photograms are a way of taking photos without using a camera. You arrange different objects onto photographic paper and expose them to a few seconds of light from above. Then you develop the photo and the photogram appears as you develop it. By doing this you get negative image and the image has high contrast, which means it comes out in black and white. Depending on the transparency of your objects the shadows will appear darker and lighter in different areas. For example if your objects have a high amount of transparency then the image with have more light areas and if it has less transparency the light won't reach those areas making it appear darker. Some of the first photographs were made using photograms, by leaving it out in the sun. Photograms were used in the 20th century by artists and photographers such as Man Ray and Anna Atkins. More recently they have started to experiment with using colour in there photograms instead of the usual negative, black and white image. 

How they are made...

A Photogram is developed in a dark room using photographic paper with objects arranged on top and then exposed to the light. You then develop the image by putting the photographic paper in development liquid, then fixing ,washing and drying. 

Equipment:

1) A Dark room

2) Photographic paper

3)Objects

4)Enlarger

5)Development liquids

6) Running water

step 1: Set your enlarger to shed an area of light slightly bigger than the photographic paper.

step 2:  Put your photographic paper underneath the part where the light will shine.

step 3: Then arrange the objects onto the paper, and put a glass sheet over the top.

step 4: Switch the light on and expose it to the light for 5 seconds.

step 5: Remove your objects and then develop your image.

Man Ray...

Man Ray was born on the 27th of August 1980. He spent most of his career in Paris, France. He did a lot of work in a variety of different medias, such as Film, Editor, Photography, and Painting. However, despite this experience he considered himself mainly a Painter. He is also famous for his Photography, particularly his Photograms, which he referred to as 'Rayographs'. Ray made the Photograms without a camera, and took different objects and arranged them onto photographic paper and then expose to a few seconds of light. He started by just using every day objects such as pens and buttons, and then he developed his work and moved onto more abstract Photograms.

Man Ray Image Analysis...

Because of the style of the photograph the image is silhouetted, and there is a lot of negative space around the image which can make it appear darker. This can change the mood and make it feel more dull and subdued. The composition of the image is fairly basic, and there aren't many objects on the paper which means they don't over crowd each other.

The Photogram is taken from above, which can change the perspective of some of the objects and can therefore alter how we seen them.
 In my opinion, the objects are arranged purposefully, and not just randomly scattered around the paper. He has chosen where he wants them to be thoughtfully so that the image is focused on particular parts of the Photogram, such as the word 'here' . The way he has arranged them could also have a deeper meaning and story behind it, for example the Eiffel Tower object could represent his time spent in Paris.

However descriptively, the image is mainly focused on the flower in the middle, with the smaller objects surrounding it. The other objects are noticeably smaller, and this could symbolise there importance. 
The image has a high contrast as most of the image is boldly black and white, however some of the more translucent objects are less bold but I think this makes the image more interesting than the objects all being block colours. As the image isn't crowded and the paper only has a few objects on it, it allows the viewer to see each object and view the image as a whole rather than individual objects.

Len Lye...

Len lye was born in 1901, in New Zealand. He is known for his experimental work with film, sculpture, and Photograms. He started using Photograms by incorporating them into his films but then began to experiment with Photograms on there own. He started a series of photograms, some of which, he worked with other artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe to create a different style. Many say that his Photograms ask the question of someone's identity, and also who they are as a person not to the masked appearance of someone.

Len Lye Image Analysis…

This Photogram was done by Len Lye in 1947, and he did it with artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. He was fascinated by each persons individuality and the make up of individuals. He chose to do Photograms with different Portrait artists to capture the essence of identity and individuality within different people. In this Photogram it shows the silhouette of a person looking up. The closer the Portrait gets to the lighter area of the paper the foggier the face appears which could suggest the feelings and thoughts of that person.

The composition of the image is very crowded and although there is empty space in the middle it is somewhat overcrowded by the branches and leaves around it. The silhouette of the mans face is very bold, however in parts of the image the face appears more fogged, perhaps where he didn't expose the object for very long. The contrast is high and the image is largely black and white and the contrast between the white leaves against the black shadow of the paper is very sharp and clear.

 Descriptively , this image is the silhouette of a face looking up on to a tree and leaves, in black and white with twigs and flowers around the outside of the Photogram. However, in my opinion  the leaves and the branches that the man is looking up at could symbolise the thoughts and the mind set of the man, also the leaves could represent an escape for that person.

Christian Schad...

Christian Schad was born in 1894 and he was a painter from Germany, but for a lot of his painting career he had experimented with Photograms. He started doing camera less photography in 1918 and by 1919 Schad was creating camera less images by using discarded objects that he had collected over the years such as torn tickets and old receipts. He was the first artist to use photograms strictly and solely as an art form.

His early work from 1919-1920's were mainly discarded objects and things that he had collected, but as the years went by he started to do more abstract art within his photograms, this work was done in 1963-1977.

Christian Schad-image analysis…

This image has a high contrast because it is mainly black and white but it does have elements of grey contrast going through some of the objects.

Subjectively, I think that the image represents specific times in Christians life which he portrays through  his use of objects, such as the butterfly which could be related to the world war which he witnessed.

Descriptively , the image is arranged in a scattered fashion and is mainly focused on the left side of the paper and all the objects overlap each other which can change the perspective that people view the Photogram. He has used flowers and animals to tell a story but it isn't that clear what he is portraying.

There is quite a lot of negative space around the objects because all of the objects are overlapping and bunched up together. The negative space could, in my opinion, be the areas in his life that were possibly lonely experiences or times when he felt alone or in darkness, and this is then reflected in the Photograms he produces. The butterfly at the top could also symbolise freedom which could suggest what the photographer was feeling at the time that he produced this piece of work.

My Photograms...

These Photograms were inspired by Man Rays work as I like how he makes the page look busy and almost chaotic. I put my own twist on his style and chose to use relatively simply shaped objects so they would stand out more when they were developed. I exposed my Photograms for three seconds and I was happy with how they came out, as I thought they had been exposed to the light for long enough to get the details of the objects. I chose to put the bigger objects at either end of the paper and group the smaller objects together in the centre because I liked that you couldn't see the whole of the bigger objects but that the small objects looked sharp and defined.

This is my test strip that I did with my watch to test how long I should expose my bigger ones for. I exposed it to the light for three seconds. Because there was only one object on the paper it was easier to do and to arrange how I wanted.

This was the final Photogram that I did. I added a lot more objects to this one and made it more crowded which was more in the style of Rays work. I like how the smaller objects look chaotic and almost messy, and the lace and the watch act as a boarder to the Photogram. The lace came out well as the black background poked through the holes of it and you could clearly see the outline of the different shapes within the lace.