Roberto Macedo | Notações e Instantâneas (2004)
Paulo Vainer | Notações e Instantâneas (2004)
Marcos Bonisson | Notações e Instantâneas (2004)
Cassio Vasconcellos | Notações e Instantâneas (2004)
Armando Prado | Notações e Instantâneas (2004)
MARCOS BONISSON, ANTONIO DIAS, WALKER EVANS, ROBERTA MACEDO, ARMANDO PRADO, PAULO VAINER AND CASSIO VASCONCELLOS
From Mar 29 to Apr 24 2004
"Is it ok?" This is the question everyone asks!
In fact, the Polaroid was invented to satisfy the eager curiosity of a child, Jennifer, Edwin Land's three-year-old daughter. And in 1947, Land tested out the universality of the appeal of the polaroid ? to use his words ? on "America?s Mothers": if these ladies could get out their camera, fit the film, click, and then see a worthwhile result, his invention could certainly be declared successful. A magic camera that anyone could afford and use! ? the general public immediately took it up, and, as the statistics proved, it chaged weddings and parties dramatically: all at once, each and every person could go home with a precious memento of the event they had just participated in.
Sixty years later, the polaroid is still going strong, with a life of its own: despite its venerable age, it is still a means of radical experiment. Grandfather of the digital camera ? which has inherited the speed of its feed-back ? the polaroid photo has migrated to the art world, to the hands of artists; and thus has garnered multiple uses that go way beyond what Land had in mind. Nowadays, it still fascinates laymen and artists alike by its intimacy and tangibility. The question in little Jennifer?s eyes survives: ? Well?! Has it come out?!?
And if it hasn't, some finger is at the ready to press the button/trigger that releases ideas.
The immediacy of the polaroid's developing mechanism:
? Facilitates the production of colours and textures never before imagined. See the mysterious and fascinating Noturnos by Cassio Vasconcellos; the deep blackness and the marks of light in Paulo Vainer?s urban landscapes, and the bizarre and explosive combinations in Armando Prado?s. These artists blow up their polaroids too to make beautiful variants of the original.
? Encourages the exploration of innumerable techniques and of intriguing and surprising experiments, such as Marcos Bonisson's and Roberta Macedo's (these welcome irreverent experiments remind us of Jasper Johns famous maxim: take an object, do something with it, do something to it).
? Provokes the spontaneous and gestural sensuality of Antonio Dias. During the 60 seconds of the developing, he scribbles on the photographic paper at the same time as the image is gently insinuating itself. Dias reminds us too that the polaroid efficiently files ideas or acts as notebook or as work sketches.
What would the great US master Walker Evans say, who discovered his indian summer of creativity by means of the polaroid? Disillusioned by life, and 70-years-old, he bought himself a SX-70 and started again on the arduous task of taking ?intelligent photos?. Result: 2650 polaroids, taken over 14 months. During which time, he was able to reinvent his visual vocabulary, that of vernacular architecture, of roadside signs, and domestic interiors. And here they are, more contemporary than ever, these direct, honest photos: poetic observations on his world.
Evans is the definitive proof of the re-invigorating and creative power of the little Polaroid.
Nessia Leonzini