Photograms

Thursday 29^th October -

Firstly we listened to a song from the 60’s called ‘ill be your mirror’ by Velvet underground.  Whilst listening to the song we had to write down images and words that came into our heads. The reason for this was to help with a potential design for an album cover. What i got from the song lyrics was that a woman was trying to help someone she knew see that they have good in them for example the singer uses the words ‘ il be your mirror’ which sugessts she wants to show them what they cant see about themselves.  

Using a box of scraps and acetate I created a collage/image that I would then use to create my photogram. I chose various materials for my photogram including a flower which I cut petals from and scattered across the acetate. The reason I chose a flower was to symbolize the good of the person and to contrast with this I used chicken wire which is sharp and jagged to symbolize the use of the words ‘twisted  and unkind’. I also used a freyed ribbon to create the shape of a heart which symbolizes the love she may have for the person she is singing to. The use of beads was to wind through the chicken wire and to pull the overall image together.

To create the final outcome of the photogram the image had to be developed in the dark room, so once I had created a test peice I set the filter to 3 and the timer to 12 seconds. Then I opened the lens to the widest and brightest aperture and set the height of enlarger so that light went beyond the masking frame. I then placed a peice of photographic paper underneath the frame and then placed the acetate image over the top. Once I had positioned the photographic paper and acetate in the correct position I then turned the timer on for 12 seconds only. I then placed the exposed image in the developer for 2 minutes, the stop for 1 minute and the fix for 4 minutes. Finally I placed it in the water bath.

I was pleased with the overall outcome of the photogram however where I had used such a dark peice of card in the image it exposed to create a harsh white shape as opposed to the use of the flower which created a softer image. I then created another print the same way but without the rectangular shape, which created a more successful image.