State Hermitage Museum Photograph Conservation Initiativecool.conservation-us.org/.../02/Cont-Phot-Wrksp-Dec-2012-handout-2.… · Silver dye-bleach photogram 101.6 x 76 cm . FAIC

FAIC Hermitage

Photograph Conservation Initiative

State Hermitage Museum

Saint Petersburg, December 17-19, 2013

Sylvie Pénichon, Instructor 1

Sylvie Pénichon Conservator of Photographs

Amon Carter Museum of American Art

FAIC Hermitage Photograph Conservation Initiative State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, December 17-19, 2013

Review of contemporary photography in 4 books:

• La Photographie contemporaine by Michel Poivert (2002)

• Art and photography by David Campany (2003)

• The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton (2004)

• Art Photography Now by Susan Bright (2005)

770 works

• 604 color prints

• 140 black and white

prints

• 26 transparencies

40 terms for processes

FAIC Hermitage





Traditional

photographic

processes

Digital printing

processes

So

urc

e:

David

Adam

so

n

David Adamson (left) and artist Chuck Close

review proofs in Close's studio.

FAIC Hermitage





Black-and-white gelatin silver

Chromogenic

Silver dye-bleach

Dye diffusion

So-called alternative processes

Paper supports:

• fiber based (FB) • resin coated (RC)

Image material:

• silver

• toner (optional)

Abelardo Morell, Camera Obscura Image of

Tuscan Landscape in Bedroom, 2000

Gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 in.

Continuous tone

Very stable if well processed

Silver mirroring in black areas of image

Early RC paper may yellow and crack

RC paper sensitive to pollutants

Bob Thall, Chicago, 2000

Gelatin silver print, 32 x 36 in.

FAIC Hermitage





Ilford Photo

• Ilford Multigrade RC and FB (142 cm)

• Ilfobrom Galerie FB (50 x 60 cm)

• Harman Direct Positive papers, FB and RC (62 cm)

• Ilford Galerie FB Digital (127 cm)

Foma Bohemia RC and FB (108 cm)

Varycon RC and FB (40 x 50 cm)

Bergger (FB 127 cm and RC 40 x 50 cm)

Some “black-and-

white” photographs

may in fact be

printed on color

chromogenic paper

So

urc

e:

Saatc

hi G

alle

ry

Idris Khan

Bernd & Hilla Becher Prison Type Gasholder, 2004

Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, 208 x 160 cm

How to recognize:

• slight color dominant (sometimes)

• colored dots visible under magnification

• RC paper

• imprint on verso

FAIC Hermitage





Marco Breuer, Untitled (Vodka), 1995

Gelatin silver print, burned,

13 x 10 in.

Holly Roberts, Man Being Bitten, 1998

Gelatin silver print, oil paint

35 x 25 in.

Other names:

• Dye coupler, dye coupling

• C-print, Type C

• R-type print

• Laser C-print, digital C-print

• Lambda, Lambda Chrome®, Lightjet® Laserchrome®

Laura Letinsky, Untitled #52, 2002

Chromogenic print, 61 x 85 cm

So

urc

e:

Am

on C

art

er

Museum

Support:

• pigmented acetate (1941)

• fiber based (FB) paper (1942)

• resin coated (RC) paper (1968)

• polyester

Image material:

• synthetic organic dyes (CMY)

FAIC Hermitage





Marco Breuer, Study for Pan VII, 2003

Chromogenic paper, scratched,

24 x 20 in

Early Kodachrome prints (Kodachrome chemistry)

Ansco Printon (physical reversal)

Color reversal papers (R-3 chemistry) • Fujichrome Paper Type

35

• Kodak Ektachrome Radiance III

All discontinued today

Continuous tone

White margins (not always!)

Imprint or stamp on verso (not with most recent papers)

Generally poor dark stability

• severe coupler staining before 1955

• much improved since mid 1980s

Poor light stability

FAIC Hermitage





Chromogenic print Silver dye-bleach print

Laura Gilpin, Woman by window, ca. 1955

Chromogenic print, 10 x 8 in. Laura Gilpin, Navajo Woman with corn, 1974

Chromogenic print, 10 x 8

Jim Hodges, Where the Sky Fills In, 2002

Chromogenic print, 193 x 127 cm

FAIC Hermitage





Durst Lambda printer introduced at Photokina 1994

Other printer brands: Lightjet, Chromira, Pegasus, Gretag, etc.

Laser or Light Emitting Diodes (LED)

Durs

t

Kodak (50 in.)

Fujifilm (50 in.)

Fujiflex (50 in.)

DNP Centuria (30 cm)

Others?

© E

astm

an K

od

ak

Other names: • dye destruction, SDB • Gasparcolor Opaque (1944) • Ilford Colour (1953) • Cibachrome (1963) • Agfacolor CU-410 (1970) • Ilfochrome (1992)

Adam Fuss, Invocation, 1992

Silver dye-bleach photogram

101.6 x 76 cm

FAIC Hermitage





Support:

• pigmented or clear triacetate (1944)

• resin coated (RC) paper (1978)

• voided or clear polyester (1980)

Image material:

• azo dyes

Detail of delaminating emulsion showing

layer structure

Continuous tone

High color saturation and high contrast

Black margins

Both sides fluoresce under UV light

Usually no imprint on verso

Azo dyes more resistant to light and acidic gases

than chromogenic dyes

Very good dark stability

FAIC Hermitage





© D

an W

inte

rs

Silver dye-bleach

prints/transparencies

Ilford discontinued production of

all silver dye-bleach printing

materials in 2012

Peel-apart or dye

diffusion transfer

• black and white (1947)

• color (1963)

Integral or SX-70

• SX-70 (1972)

• Kodak (1976)

• Fuji (1980) Edwind H. Land introduces first instant

color film: Polacolor type 48, 1963

FAIC Hermitage





Support:

• paper

• pigmented polyester

Image material:

• silver (B&W)

• dyes

• metallic dyes (after 1972)

Polapan (BW)


• white margin

• sulfiding if protective

coating unevenly

applied

• coatless film

introduced in 1970

Robert Heinecken, The S.S. Copyright Project

“On Photography”, 1978

Polacolor (1963)


• white margin

• mounting board

Polacolor 2 (1975)

• metallic dyes

Polacolor ER (1981)

Andy Warhol, Lisa Minnelli, 1977.

Polacolor, J. P. Getty Museum Coll.

FAIC Hermitage





Large format Polaroid 20 x 24” or 40 x 80” (1978) • BW and color

• pigmented plastic base, white or grey

• white margin with chemical stain

• very stable in dark

Elsa Dorfman, Elsa Dorfman and

20x24 camera, 2008

SX-70 (1972)

Time Zero (1980)

Polaroid 600 (1981)

Spectra (1986)

Lucas Samara, Photo-transformation, 1976

SX-70 manipulated, Art Institute of Chicago Coll.

Detail with crack

Polaroid discontinued

production in 2008

The Impossible Project

(Enschede, NL)

20x24 studio, NYC

Fujifilm

Impossible film in 20x24 camera,

Photokina 2010

FAIC Hermitage





Mark Osterman, Ballyhoo, 2003

Wet plate collodion ambrotype on ruby glass, 10 x 8 in.

Sarah Moon, Monette pour Comme des Garçons, 2007

Four-color carbon print, 51.5 x 69.4 cm

Binh Danh, Untitled: Caught in Action, 2003

Chlorophyll print and resin, 7.5 x 13.5”

FAIC Hermitage





Ink jet

Dye sublimation

Electrophotography

David

Adam

so

n

Bryan Whitson removes finished

Annie Leibovitz prints of Lance Armstrong

from IXIA drum-based inkjet printers

Continuous flow

Drop on Demand (DOD) or Impulse Jet

• thermal or bubble Jet

• piezoelectric

Sou

rce:

H.

P. Le

FAIC Hermitage





Other names: • Iris, Giclée

Support: • Paper

Image material: • liquid dye-based

inks

Director Brent Glass, Graham Nash, Steve

Boutler, curator Shannon Perich and Mac

Holbert, Smithsonian's, Aug. 12, 2005

Continuous tone

Can show horizontal lines or noise in mid-

tones under magnification

Dots are difficult to see on watercolor paper

Variable dot size and different, but always

regular, dot patterns possible

So

urc

e:

Wnek

FAIC Hermitage





Other names: • pigment, archival

digital

Support: • coated paper, RC

paper, fine art paper

Image material: • dye-based or

pigment-based inks

Terry Evans, Oak Street Beach,

Chicago, 2004

Ink jet on watercolor paper, 12 x 12 in.

Photographic quality

Sharp individual dots visible under

magnification

Random dots, no pattern

FAIC Hermitage





Inks

Papers (media)

Defined by their colorants: • dye-based • pigment-based

Defined by their carrier: • liquid

water-based solvent-based UV-curable oil-based

• solid (phase-change)

Dye-based • provide brilliant

saturated color

• fade more quickly

• very sensitive to water and humidity

• more vulnerable to environmental gasses (ozone)

20% RH

50% RH

80% RH

Cre

ative M

em

ories

FAIC Hermitage





Pigment-based

• color gamut smaller, duller colors

• tendency to metamerism

• more lightfast than dye-based inks

• less affected by environmental factors

Adam Fuss, Untitled, 2003

Pigment print, 72 x 44 in.

Liquid ink

• water-based

• solvent-based

true solvent

low- or eco-solvent

• UV-curable

• oil-based

Canon ChromaPLUS Eight Color Ink Set

Solid ink (phase change) • mixture of synthetic waxes

and dyes heated to form a liquid

• hot wax ejected onto the medium

• droplet hits the substrate and freezes immediately

• spherical droplet flattened by a final step of cold pressure L

e T

echno

logie

s,

Inc.

Le T

echno

logie

s,

Inc.

Phase-change ink drops on the

surface of a bond paper

Phase-change ink drops after

fused by cold pressure rollers

FAIC Hermitage





Bond paper (uncoated)

• plain paper used in laser printers and office copiers

Inkjet paper (sized)

• slightly better quality than bond paper; with sizing

Fine art paper

• 100% cotton rag (ex. Arches, Rives, Sommerset)

Coated inkjet paper (composite)

• with a receptor coating to aid in receiving the inks

Microporous vs. swellable

Before printing After printing After drying

Microporous coating

Swellable coating

Microporous

• good finger print resistance

• low fade resistance

• very susceptible to atmospheric pollutants

Swellable polymer

• increased brightness

• good fade resistance

• resistant to atmospheric pollutants

FAIC Hermitage





Films • Poly (ethylene terephtalate) PET transparent, translucent or opaque

extremely smooth, high gloss surface, waterproof, dimensionally stable

• Poly (vinyl chloride) PVC or “vinyl” cast or calendered (scrim)

Specialty media • canvas, silk, linen, etc.

Many combinations of ink and paper possible

Fast evolving technology

• new materials

Many factors can influence long term stability

• light, temperature, humidity, water, gaseous pollutants

Tests take a long time

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

FAIC Hermitage





Mike and Doug Starn, Structure of Thought No 15,

2001-2005 . MIS and Lysonic inkjet prints on Thai

mulberry, gampi and tissue paper with wax,

encaustic and varnish

Dorothy Krause, Villa, 2005

Mixed media UV-cured flatbed prints on

metal, wood and plaster

Contemporary photography is healthy

Artists are exploring new materials and

techniques or revisiting old ones

• new modes of presentation

Rapidly evolving digital printing technology

Confusing terminology for processes

Use controlled terminology

• e.g. Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus

• expand collection databases to include new

processes

For acquisition, use standardized

questionnaire to record printing materials

and finishing techniques

• Photographs Information Record (PIR)

www.conservation-us.com

Documents

State Hermitage Museum Photograph Conservation Initiativecool.conservation-us.org/.../02/Cont-Phot-Wrksp-Dec-2012-handout-2.… · Silver dye-bleach photogram 101.6 x 76 cm . FAIC