2008 Woodie Awards
Photos resonate through rich tones and evolved theme
Kate Giglio
Issue date: 4/8/04 Section: Entertainment
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Even the stretching white walls of the gallery fail to devour prints that are mostly all smaller than a piece of computer paper. In the platinum-hued monochromes and vibrantly textured, modified Polaroids, an evolution within the themes of Marcuse's work can be seen.
The exhibition, which opened on Thursday, Mar. 25, is titled simply, "Tanya Marcuse: Photographs 1993 - 2004." The display consists of different collections of photographs that Marcuse has shot during the past eleven years. Attendees of the exhibition opening were impressed by the physical size of the prints and the artistic maturation of Marcuse's work.
"You see the evolution of her work, that it revolves around the same subject matter," Amy Ansell, Bard sociology professor, said. "You can see the continuity across the different [collections]."
The exhibition evokes corporeal themes with a whimsical air, loosely tying all the work together with the idea of fabrics and coverings. Marcuse said her inspiration for the "Textiles" portion of the exhibition was a result of her daughters' imaginations.
"It started when I saw my daughters play with these chintzy fabrics that I had given them, she said. "It was interesting to see them transforming these tacky things into anything they wanted them to be, which were mostly sort of fairy tale things for them."
She said she originally photographed Eve, now 7, and Abby, 5, dressed up in their fantastical costumes, but gradually moved on to the more symbolic aspect of the subject matter.
"I first started photographing my kids dressed up, but I preferred the more sort of iconic abstract [photographs] of just the fabrics," Marcuse said.
This ideological progression, Marcuse said, led to the photographs of different fabrics in this section to represent the idea of the bodily structure with fanciful undertones.
"It was sort of that same idea of transforming fabrics into these fantasy-type things," Marcuse said.
Ansell said that Marcuse captured the dynamic between the body and its coverings.
"It's amazing how sensual it is, a piece of fabric and the way it works with the body," she said.
Some of Marcuse's early work is featured, which includes photographs of the human body, all nude. This is representative of the core of Marcuse's study - the body as the framework on which fabrics hang.
If these nude photographs are one extreme, representing the raw tangibility of the human body, then Marcuse's Polaroid emulsion transfers are the other, indicative of the fabric taking on a human form yet still remaining an abstract depiction of it.
With emulsion transfers, the photographer actually cooks the image off of the Polaroid picture and places it on practically anything he or she wants. Imagine dropping a Polaroid into a pot of boiling water and having the 'epidermis' of the photo separate from its backing, and then taking that skin and applying it to a new surface.
Marcuse said the process allowed a transformation where the medium virtually became the subject.
"The emulsion transfer itself is this membrane or piece of skin," she said.
Marcuse said she stumbled upon the concept of emulsion transfers.
"I was actually looking for something new to teach my students," she said.
Marcuse is an adjunct professor at Simon's Rock College of Bard, where she initially became interested in photography as a student.
The pieces in this section of the exhibition are vibrantly colored, a departure from the monotones in her other work.
Marcuse said she enjoyed employing new techniques in her work.
"The Polaroid emulsion transfers are totally different from anything I'd done," she said. "It was an experience; having this nice departure from this process I [usually] do."
The postcard-sized platinum prints in the "Undergarments and Armor" collection surprised amateur photographer, website developer, and former Dutchess Community College co-professor of Marcuse, John McKinney.
"I'm amazed by the size of the prints," McKinney said. "Usually, you see something bigger."
However, he said what really mattered was the image. He was intrigued by the subjects of the photos themselves, which are pieces of metal armor and almost-as-restricting undergarments of centuries past.
"It's fascinating, and sensuous, that's for sure," McKinney said. "That's what makes it interesting."
Marcuse said she was interested in the subject of armor and undergarments because of its longetivity, as contrasted with the human form it is made to house.
"It's what is left when the body is gone," she said.
Platinum prints are known for their delicate tonal scales derived from hand-coated noble metals and printing on fine art papers. Modern black & white photographs are also known as silver/gelatin prints where the image is formed with silver metal in a gelatin emulsion. Almost all black & white prints are made by using "factory-made" commercial paper. However, most platinum prints are hand crafted. When one refers to a "platinum print" it can be inferred that it includes palladium, as most prints have a combination of the two precious metals.
Platinum/palladium printing begins by first mixing the sensitizer. Then the paper is coated, dried, and printed with exposures counted in minutes rather than seconds. The last step is the final processing of the print. The process can take an hour or longer. The goal is to produce a one-of-kind image of the highest quality.
Marcuse said she finds this laborious process enjoyable because of the rewarding outcome.
"I love the intimate scale and the rich tones of the prints," she said.
Marcuse photographed these subjects in museum archives both in the United States and in England. She said she it was easier to get access to archives of museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Higgins Armory Museum in Massachusetts because a Gugghenheim Fellowship funded her project.
"Everyone takes you a little more seriously," she said of the grant. "When you have a Gugghenheim Fellowship they know that you're really serious."
She also said that in addition to letting her do a very expensive project with platinum printing, the Fellowship also provides morale boosts that artists need.
"Basically, you get a really big check and validation at the same time," she said. "And that's what artists need - money and validation."
Marcuse is currently in the process of publishing a fine art book containing prints from her "Undergarments and Armor" study. Nazraeli Press has taken on the project, which Marcuse said was her first choice publisher because of their excellent record of quality.
"They just do beautiful fine art photography books - it's very, very specific," she said. "I thought of using University Press, but you don't get the type of beautiful fine art reproductions [as with fine art publishers like Nazraeli]."
Marcuse said the book will be out in late 2004 or early 2005.
She also gave a talk on "Undergarments and Armor" for Marist's Fall Honors Lecture. She said she is giving a similar talk on Apr. 8 in Albany, in conjunction with the city's Fulton Street Gallery.
People familiar with Marcuse's work were glad to see so much of it displayed all together. Sheila Moloney, groundswriter for Bard College as well as a friend of Marcuse's, was impressed by the collection.
"It's interesting to see similar subject matter done in different mediums, and with the different techniques she uses," she said.
While examining the steel corsets and wire bustles depicted in "Undergarments," Moloney said she is appreciative of the styles that exist today, as opposed to those of times past.
"When I look at this, I'm so happy I was born in this generation!" she said.