Thinking About Photography
Dedicated to expanding our ideas about photography
Experimental Photography
October 5th - December 20th
How do we define experimental photography? In the beginning, almost everything was experimental. When photography was barely a decade old, botanist Anna Atkins laid dried seaweed onto sensitized paper in the sun and created the first hand-made photobook of cyanotypes. Her innovative use of the medium allowed her to bypass more traditional processes, such as engraving, to create an entirely new method of illustration. It’s only more recently that she has taken her place in the history of photography…there was a time when her initials were mistaken for "anonymous author.”
Anna Atkins, 1850 - 1875, Wikimedia Commons
Francesca Woodman, Some Disordered Interior Geometries, New York 1980-81
Catalog from Francesca Woodman exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
More than a century later, moving from the scientific to the personal, we have an astounding body of work from Francesca Woodman as she expanded the medium with her exploration of self-portraiture and the body. To quote SFMOMA Curator Corey Keller, her “most powerful images were produced as she responded to her environment and her own imaginative flights of fancy.”
Alternative Processes are often considered experimental, probably for the hand-made aspect. I believe that, rather than a technique, experimental photography is a state of mind rooted in the “why not?” It is deeply connected to exploration and a desire to see where “what if” leads you. It’s also about a desire to partner with chance - fate - whatever you want to call it, as you give up control and allow yourself to be surprised and taught by where you land.
© Gris Photography, Family Portrait, Experimental Photography Festival 2024
Photography is still a medium that invites experimentation and one of the newest movements can be found in Barcelona, Spain. In 2018 photographers Laura Ligari and Pablo Giori met when he was curating a double exposure exhibition, which turned out to be a great success. Encouraged by the very positive reception, and realizing there was a need for more information, they founded the "Double Exposure in Barcelona Movement (BADEM). This led to the Experimental Photo Festival, an annual event, in Barcelona, which celebrates the desire to head off the beaten path and find your own creative voice. In 2021 they created Agora, School of Experimentation a place "dedicated to continuous learning, dialog, and the exchange of experimental knowledge."
"The future is experimental and nonconformist and is in dialogue with other arts, in the mixture of languages and projects. Experimentation is experience rather than results.
Our intention is to strengthen and disseminate our own story by offering the experimental artistic community a space to expose their works, thoughts, and share their techniques, their searches and concerns. We are an association in a permanent search for different expressions from a trans-disciplinary perspective since we understand that photography is nourished by cinema, video, painting, architecture, music, sculpture, dance, and other artistic and social expressions." - Experimental Photo Festival
The artists in this showcase are actively engaged in practices that expand what photography can be. Some show us that the essence of photography, drawing with light, does not require a camera or even a print. Others have used the medium in joyful and emotive ways with visual layering to obscure details while embedding meaning. Additionally, from Man Ray to A.I. we have a very interesting selection of book reviews from PhotoBook Journal featuring artists who are also expanding our ideas about photography.
