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Photogram projects by Lloyd Godman - photogram artists

Related photogram techniques

Rather than simply laying objects onto a piece of light sensitive paper, there are also some other related techniques that are also called "photograms".  

Luminogram, Chemigram, Clich'e verre

Chemigrams

"In the case of the Chemigram photochemical reactions themselves contribute to the contents of the picture in that one creates the image by manipulating the photochemical process or else by applying the chemicals manually, thus combining painting with photography" Floris Neususs

These can be made by painting, dripping or spraying developer onto various areas of a fully exposed piece of paper, or the paper can be activated with a range of chemicals during development. Adam Fuss for instance has made photograms of rabbits with their entrails lying on the paper. As well as the physical body of the animal, the body fluids  become part of the image through the exposure to light and as a chemical reaction to the material.)
 

The adjacent Chemigram  was made by painting weak solutions of developer and fixer over the paper as it was being exposed to a very dim light. It was frequently washed with water, repainted and splashed etc.

 

A detail of a section of the chemigram above. Notice the layering as various strength developers have been painted on and then wash of

There can often be a problem with chemigrams on Black & White paper stabilizing the image. If the image is formed through painting various developers onto the paper in a room light, to form a wonderful array of subtle colours, the silver image still has to be be fixed to stabilize it. In the process the colours can shift remarkably. There appears to be only two alternatives:

*Keeping the image stabilized in the dark is not really a practical solution.

*Rephotograph the image onto colour film say with 120 or 4x5 and then reprinting onto colour paper, or as an inkjet print. There is an ambiance that is lost in this process but there is not really many other options that I know of to keep the image in a permanent state.

 
A combined photograph and chemigram.
The photograph was developed first by brushing on the developer to process this area, and then the marks on the outside have been created by painting 
various strength developers  onto the paper which was fully exposed to light. 

In 1977 Collen Cripps used the technique of covering her hands and face with a thin layer of Vaseline  and pressing it against a large sheet of photographic paper and then exposed it to light. During the development the developer was prevented from reaching the areas where the Vaseline was making a unique self portrait .


Alex Syndikas has also used this technique in his work

 

Polli Marriner works with silver chloride POP paper to make her chemigrams images. These have an "amazing in depth of colour and tonal range, from creamy white to intense purple black but with reds oranges and violets between, also there is an amazing re-deposit of silver thing that gives metallic pooling and streaking, when in the states I was told it is called halo effect, it happens on traditional paper but not as much".

 

 

 

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