Category: Altered Photos

Altered Photos, Art, Photography

Altering Polaroids

Shelly

I actually managed to get some artwork done over the weekend, but I haven’t gotten around to scanning/photographing/uploading it yet. I’ll try to do so tonight. I’ve been doing 6 x 6 inch collages, many of which incorporate altered Polaroid photos.

Speaking of Polaroids, I played around a bit with bleaching them. This is a nice way to recycle photos that didn’t turn out well.

Start by taking them apart. This can be a bit tedious, but once you know how they’re constructed, it’s not difficult. Begin by pulling off the edging tape (you might have to use an Xacto or razor blade to pry up an edge), then remove the front plastic sheet from the backing. The plastic sheet is what you’ll be working with. The photo emulsion is on the back of it. You can sand the front, which is kind of neat, but you can also scratch and/or sand through the emulsion from the back. Or, you can bleach it. I used a dinner plate with a shallow pool of undiluted bleach. Just lay the photo, emulsion side down, into the bleach. Lift it out and watch the front side of it. When it is lightened the desired amount, immediately place it in water. (I did this at the kitchen sink, and just left the water running.) Gently blot and leave to dry, emulsion side up.

Caveats: Dark photos work best for bleaching. Any white areas will disintegrate easily when bleached, so be careful not to overdo the bleach. Also be careful handling the emulsion side, at least until it has dried thoroughly. It’s especially delicate when it’s wet.

Or, instead of bleaching, you can wet the emulsion with plain water. Let it sit a moment to soften. Then, you can gently manipulate it with your fingertips, a brush, or a pencil eraser. It’s possible to get some interesting blending results this way. Just be careful not to overdo it, because it’s a fine line between manipulation of the emulsion and its complete removal.

You can also remove the emulsion from part of the photo, if you want to use it in collage so that the image beneath that section shows through.

Once the photos are dry, you can use them in collages, paintings, or in art journals. I’ve used a very thin layer of acrylic medium to adhere them. Make sure you burnish thoroughly, both to ensure good contact and to force out any extra adhesive. Mechanical fasteners, like eyelets, brads, or thread work great, too. And then, of course, there are good, old fashioned photo corners.

Altered Photos, Art

Altered Photos

Shelly

001

Altered Photo 02

Altered Photo 03 Altered Photo 07

Altered Photo 06

Altered Photo 05

Altered Photo 08

I’ve been meaning to scan these for awhile. These were all altered with just bleach. I used Q-tips, a syringe, and my fingers to apply the bleach. I used both diluted and undiluted bleach. Caveat: if using undiluted bleach, I recommend having a tub of water handy or do your altering in the kitchen sink with the water running. You’ll need to act quickly or the bleach will completely eat away the emulsion. I found that using a syringe filled with a 50/50 bleach/water solution, pre-wetting the photo with running water, and running the photo through the water as soon as the bleach was applied worked best.

I really like the way the squarish photo of the snake turned out. That effect was gotten by filling the bottom of a lunch plate with a 50/50 bleach/water solution, dipping the center of the photo in the liquid, then immediately running it under water.

Altered Photos, Art, Ladybusiness

Tainted Love: A Series of ATCs

Shelly

ATC: Baubo Takes the Bull by the Horns

ATC: Baubo and Cycladic Head Find Love in a Feather Bed

ATC: Baubo Cruises the Love Boat

ATC: Sympathetic Magic 1

ATC: Sympathetic Magic 2
1. Baubo Takes Love by the Horns
2. Baubo and Cycladic Head Find Love in a Feather Bed
3. Baubo Cruises the Love Boat
4. Sympathetic Magic 1
5. Sympathetic Magic 2

Technical notes:
One of the art groups I play in decided to do a special Dark Valentine ATC swap. I had some ideas that revolved around Hollywood sex sirens, but they all seemed a bit flat. I was going through a box of photos I’d taken years ago for a project I haven’t really gotten to yet: Baubo’s Safari. I thought some of them would be perfect for this swap, so I pulled out a few of them and set them on my coffee table to contemplate. I figured that if I looked at them long enough, inspiration would hit. And it did.

I sanded and scratched up the surfaces. For the one 35mm photo, I was able to entirely sand away extraneous bits I didn’t want included. Polaroid film isn’t as easily manipulated, but I found that if I sanded off the binding tape around the edges, I could remove the film from the emulsion layer. I really like the way these turned out. (If you try this at home, I’d suggest wearing gloves and a face mask and dispose of the emulsion layer very carefully! It contains some pretty toxic chemicals that you don’t want to breathe or worse, have your pets chew on or eat.)

The photo layer of a Polaroid is a thin piece of plastic, so it presents a challenge when trying to adhere it to something else. I’d decided to use an old deck of Harly Davidson playing cards as my ATC base. The cards are highly plasticized, and even though I’d sanded them thoroughly, I didn’t think I could get a good bond between the card and the film. I decided to use a mechanical fastener–eyelets–instead.

Baubo:
So, who is Baubo and why did I choose her to represent tainted love? Baubo is a goddess of womanly humor and knowledge; of obscene laughter and bawdy jokes; of the belly and the vulva.

Baubo played an important part in the story of Demeter and Persephone. When Demeter–goddess of ripe grain; of fruition and harvest–lost her daughter to Hades, she wandered the earth in deep mourning. Demeter took an oath that the earth would remain barren until Persephone was returned to her. The crops died and the earth turned barren. It was as if ceaseless winter had fallen on the land.

In deep despair, Demeter travels to Eleusis, where she retires from the world. Baubo meets her there and intercedes, telling bawdy jokes and then, the unthinkable: Baubo flashes Demeter. By lifting up her skirts and showing her belly and vulva to Demeter, Baubo shocks Demeter and causes her to laugh. Demeter regains hope and decides to carry on her search for her daughter. In the meantime, she reclaims her duties in making the crops and vegetation grow. Abundance returned to the earth.

Sympathetic Magic:
These two images should be self-explanatory. They are funerary urns from the Bura People of Lake Chad, Niger. They’re shaped like huge penises (3-4′ tall) and are covered with scarification patterns.