Object number2015.14
Untitled (C-1308)
Date2013
Artist
Marco Breuer
(German, b. 1966)
CultureGerman
MediumChromogenic paper, burned/scratched
DimensionsSheet: 12 7/8 × 10 in. (32.7 × 25.4 cm)
Framed: 15 × 12 × 1 1/8 in. (38.1 × 30.5 × 2.9 cm)
Framed: 15 × 12 × 1 1/8 in. (38.1 × 30.5 × 2.9 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Anne Hoene Hoy, class of 1963, Fund
On View
Not on viewPeriod21st c
Classification(s)
Vassar Exhibitions
Label TextResponding to the dominance of digital images in the twenty-first century, many contemporary artists revisit photography’s chemical and material possibilities. Alison Rossiter and Marco Breuer each experiment with photographic chemistry to create abstract, sculptural objects without the use of a camera. Rossiter collects photographic paper that expired almost a century ago. Without further exposing it to light, she develops the paper in the darkroom to reveal subtle, ghostly marks that have been preserved over time in the photographic emulsion—a chemical coating that makes paper sensitive to light. Arranged in abstract compositions, she calls the monochromatic prints “time capsules.” She preserves not only expired paper but, more significantly, the notion of the photography as a durable object. Likewise fascinated by material transformation, Breuer distresses the usually smooth, pristine surface of photographic paper using an array of techniques—such as burning, scratching, folding, sanding, and chewing—and then exposes it to light directly. These actions produce irregular marks that have depth and texture, revealing layers of paper and colors that emerge from the emulsion, inviting an entirely new way of seeing.
DescriptionA black ground with orange, yellow, red, and white striations with various scratches and negative white space in the shape of minute irregular bubbles.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
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