For two days Jerry Spagnoli (second from the right) led a workshop, teaching students to create their own Daguerreotype images using the Becquerel method in the darkrooms at Art Intersection. These are the new Daguerreians (less one who was camera shy).
Many of the plates were exposed in a large format camera and some were contact printed from a film positive.
A Daguerreotype is a photographic image, produced on a sheet of polished silver, unmatched for its detail and clarity, and for its unique presence. The process has a rich historical legacy but has been largely lost to artists for over one hundred years.
The workshop participants learned all the steps necessary to make a Bequerrel Daguerreotype include polishing, sensitizing and finishing the plates, as well as how to make their own equipment to continue the process in their own darkrooms.
In the Galleries you will find photographs embedded in brass sculptures, exposed into a plant leaf, printed in a book, and imaged onto a silver mirror; this unique exhibit is The Physical Photograph, and Jerry Spagnoli Contemporary Daguerreotypes and Local Stories. The opening offered the opportunity to visit with many of the exhibiting artists and talk about their work.
Exhibiting artist Philip Zimmerman stands next to his photo book, Sanctus Sonorensis.
Exhibiting artists in the Galleries, Damon Sauer, Binh Danh, and Julie Anand.
Jerry Spagnoli and Jim Hajicek discuss the wonders of 19th century photography and printing. Later in the week Mr. Spagnoli gave a lecture at the Phoenix Art Museum sponsored by INFOCUS.
