Manipulation

The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.
--Philip K. Dick, science fiction author

In 1972, Polaroid had the most advanced camera on the planet, the SX-70. Instant film that developed before your eyes in 60 seconds, fold-up compactness, space-age design, the first autofocus (sonar). The film had a "flaw" in the emulsion that rendered it soft for a while after the exposure and development. This created some problems for people who put the prints into a purse or wallet and other objects rubbed up against it, smearing the emulsion and altering the image. Artists took this to heart as a great new medium and began exploiting it. Over the years, the popularity of SX-70 manipulation came and went, with a resurgence in popularity in the mid 90s when I first started working with this technique. Using various tools, I push and smear the emulsion along the time gradient from exposure to hardening to get different effects. Some areas are manipulated heavily while others are left alone. It depends upon the image. Sometimes I use an SX-70 camera and work on the spot, other times I use a 35mm slide and Daylab to expose the Polaroid film. Each time is different and unique, even with the same image.

Polaroid discontinued production of SX-70 Time Zero film inthe first quarter this year. It made a lot of photographic artists very unhappy. I stocked up on as much film as I could afford prior to that, but it doesn't have a long shelf life. Another victim of digital technology.

This one I did today with some additional manipulation in Photoshop to cover an exposed breast for those of you at work, and I added some color adjustments. Otherwise, this image has been completely created by hand. I call it "Protected By Thorns".