Camera-­‐lessCamera-­‐lessPhotographyPhotography

An  introduc+on  toAn  introduc+on  to    thethePHOTOGRAMPHOTOGRAM  process  process

&  its  history&  its  history……

What  is  a  Photogram?What  is  a  Photogram?

• A PHOTOGRAM is aphotographic print made byplacing objects onto light-sensitive paper andexposing it with light fromabove (without the use of acamera).

• Also  known  as  RAYOGRAMa7er  photographer  MANRAY  who  claims  to  havediscovered  the  process.

How  does  a  photogram  work?How  does  a  photogram  work?Light  source

ObjectsLight

sensi+vepaper

Solid  shadowcreated  by  objectflush  to  paper

Variety  of  tones  createdby  areas  partly  exposed

to  light

In the 1830s, HENRY FOXTALBOT, a pioneer ofphotography, started makingphotograms of plants, whichhe referred to as‘PHOTOGENIC DRAWINGS’.

HENRY  FOXHENRY  FOXTALBOTTALBOT

ANNA  ATKINSANNA  ATKINS

ANNA  ATKINS  was  thefirst  womanphotographer.

She  became  interested  inmaking  accurate  drawingsof  plant  life,  and  usedphotography  and  thecyanotype  process  as  hertools.

Photogram ArtistsMost PHOTOGRAMSmade in the 1800s weredocumentary experiments.It wasn’t until theMODERNIST MOVEMENTin the 20th Century thatartists started to makephotograms as art worksfocusing on form,movement and space.Many of these artists werepart of the BAUHAUSMOVEMENT in Germany.

LotteJacobi

ChristianShad

Man  RayMan  Ray

LaszloLaszloMoholy  Moholy  NagyNagy

•  Both  MAN  RAY  and  MOHOLY  -­‐  NAGY  brought  photogramsfrom  the  scien+fic  to  the  realm  of  art.

•They  o7en  used  3-­‐dimensional  objects  to  see  how  they  wouldtranslate  onto  a  2-­‐dimensional  photo  (light)  sensi+ve  surface.

•They  used  an  ar+ficial  light  source  and  some+mes  moved  thelight  and  the  objects  around  during  exposure  .

Good, Bad or Meh Examples…