What can a vintage Polaroid camera impressively do now that everyone seems to have a digicam or a camfone or even a DSLR to boot?
How about this:
This work of art was actually made using a Polaroid camera plus some nifty manipulations, making it look like a painting. The original of this work will be among several to be presented in an exhibit dubbed “Old Magic” at One Workshop, Chino Roces cor. Sabio St., Makati City starting 7:00 pm tonight.
My good friend Vixienne Marie Calulut, one of the members of the group Foto Baryo, told me: “Yung mga works namin ay hindi na mare-replicate [because] the film we used is no longer being manufactured by Polaroid.”
All the photos-turned-artworks were made using a Polaroid SX-70 camera and the now discontinued time-zero film.
Vixienne also told me that their group is really into black-and-white photography, but “because of our philosophy of sharing, we were able to come up with this” which made use of a single Polaroid camera shared among several people.
According to a Flickr discussion:
Before the onset of digital photography, instant pictures were taken using special cameras and film. One such company that manufactured these cameras was Polaroid, which came up with the SX-70. It was such a hit especially during the 70’s and people used them to capture memories and witness pictures magically developing before their eyes. The camera was built very simply with only a few moving parts. The film is loaded with built-in photographic paper and chemicals that when used, comes out of the camera. The image taken develops in a matter of minutes and the photographer witnesses the whole process.
Some artists discovered that photographs taken with the SX-70 camera and using the SX-70 film, or later on known as the Time-Zero film, could be altered manually by using a blunt instrument like a stylus or any ordinary implement such as a pencil. When the film develops, the chemicals remain soft and before they harden and dry, alteration can be done to the image. Applying a small amount of pressure by using the blunt stylus directly upon the picture causes the colors in the film to “move”. A painterly effect is achieved in the picture.
Polaroid Manipulation has been done by artists all over the world and has been accepted as a photographic art form. However, this type of style in photography is now considered dead or extinct. The Polaroid Company has since phased out the SX-70 camera and the manipulative Time-Zero film. The new generation of film Polaroid markets do not have the characteristics of their predecessors. Thus, Polaroid Manipulation cannot be done anymore today.
The reason for the demise of Polaroid Manipulation is digital photography. Digital pictures are fast and instant. Alterations or manipulation can be done by using computer applications. It was not feasible anymore to compete with digitalization because the film was expensive to manufacture and the demand for it became lesser when people started switching to digital cameras, which do not use film at all. Instant gratification in photography completely developed through a new medium.
The age of digitalization in photography, however, allowed Polaroid Manipulation art to be enlarged and reproduced through digital printing. This enables people to appreciate and enjoy this lost art form.
Let’s thank Foto Baryo for bringing it back to life and for all of us to appreciate and enjoy.
The exhibit runs until Nov. 7.