Great Polaroiders
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© Greg Wasserstrom
For a lot of us, Polaroids were like a gateway drug that developed into more serious photography-abuse. Above are the first images I made that ignited my interest in photography in March 2001, almost 7 years ago.
In light of Polaroid’s recent discontinuation of instant film, I thought I’d compile a list of Polaroid collections from some of history’s greatest photographers. There are far more of these instances and projects than I reasonably include here. Also, I only really know the obvious ones, anyway. Please expand the list with your links and descriptions in the comments.
Evans pioneering work of the ’30s and ’40s made photography a particularly American mode of social exploration for much of the 20th century. There is nary a photographer to follow that could escape his influence. Evans was one of the very first photographers to begin experimenting with the Polaroid in the early 1970s. The company was so thrilled by this living legend’s interest in their product, they quickly offered him an unlimited supply of SX-70 film. Today, a similar offer would yield a stock that would last only through 2009.
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE: AUTOPORTRAITFrom the book jacket: “The black-and-white Polaroid photographs that Mapplethrope produced during the early 1970s constitute an in-depth self-portrait, intently and graphically exploring expressions, moods, postures and actions that range from angelics and innocent to sinister and erotic. Comprised of Mapplethorpe’s earliest photographs, Autoportrait presents the artist’s most revealing attempts to wed the erotic and sexual with other theoretical concerns.
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE: POLAROIDS
The reason I’m doing Mapplethorpe twice is to emphasize not only his influence on contemporary photography but also to make the point that Polaroids were an important part of his process and his use of the medium in and of itself was not without influence. This collection of black-and-white polaroids from the 1970s shows Mapplethrope making portraits of his closest friends and lovers and his immediate surroundings. His use of Polaroid add to the spontaniaty, immediacy and intamacy of the work which has had, without question, unmeasurable impact on later photographers like Nan Goldin.
In 1979, among increasing attention to an international appreciation for his work, Kertesz began to experiment with the SX-70. Many seem to agree that the exploration of this new medium had much to do with a search for a new way of working after the death of his wife. Or, at least that’s what it says on the book jacket and in the Wikipedia.
It’s fair to say I’m not Wegman’s biggest fan, nor would I consider him a “master photographer” comparable to the three previous ones. But as a prolific producer of massive, crystal clear Polaroid portraits of his, dogs– generally dressed adorably as people– it wouldn’t be right to leave him off the list. So there you have it. Wegman’s been using Polaroids to photograph his Weimaraners, first Man Ray and now Fay Ray, since the 1980s.
He’s also the only photographer on this list to appear on Sesame Street.
ANDREY TARKOVSKY: INSTANT LIGHT
Tarkovsky isn’t exactly a master photographer; he is the Russian director responsible for the film Solaris (the orignal mind you, not the one with George Clooney) who also snapped Polaroids in his spare time. I think the same is true for Stanley Kubrick too, though I have to say that at this point I’m not that inclined to investigate. But the wonderful thing about Polaroid is that for a person with an eye, like, say, an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, can take rich, complex pictures without having to understand the the technical working of a non-instant camera. Not that Tarkovsky was a beginner, but you get my point. I found this book in a used bookstore long ago, and it’s great.
WALKER EVANS: POLAROIDS
ANDRE KERTESZ: POLAROIDS
So there it is. I know there are many, many more and please share them in the comments.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Mike SLack
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
[...] taken a Polaroid in ages, I’m surprising myself by how much I’m reading (and writing) about their decision to abandon instant film. A couple days ago, NPR had a story on All Things [...]
March 5th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I would also add Mike Slacks’s OK OK OK