The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology - Hardcover

Ewing, William A.; Hitchcock, Barbara; Reuter, Rebekka; Douglas, Debbie; Van Zante, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500544735 ISBN 13: 9780500544730

Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2017

Synopsis

Polaroid founder Edwin Land regarded his invention as more than a technical accomplishment or a convenient medium for both professional photographers and consumers – he saw Polaroid as a means of artistic expression. At Land’s behest, and starting from a collaboration with Ansel Adams in 1949, Polaroid built an artists’ liaison programme in which artists and photographers would donate prints in return for materials and access to cutting-edge Polaroid technology – including the legendary 24 x 20 inch Polaroid camera. Over the next five decades, the Polaroid collections in both the United States and Europe became world-renowned for the stellar list of names whose work it contained. Following Polaroid’s second bankruptcy in 2008, the collections were fragmented – the US and European collections were split and key works were sold at auction. A comprehensive view of the collection was no longer possible – until now. With an associated, internationally touring exhibition opening in June 2017, The Polaroid Project is the only book to bring together both the outstanding photography created by the artists and photographers Polaroid worked with, alongside the technical objects and artifacts from the MIT Museum archive. Curated by William A. Ewing and Barbara Hitchcock, and with texts from other leading critics, curators and writers that discuss the Polaroid phenomenon in terms of artistic output and lasting legacy on design, technology, society and business, this book is the definitive publication for the many who have a deep love of Polaroid.

About this title

Review

If ever there was testament to the global affection for the remarkable visionary, artistic and technological triumph that is the Polaroid, The Polaroid Project is surely it --AnOther Magazine

The book navigates gracefully between the art and science of Polaroid, and it s absolutely thorough in its scope. This is a great book, not only for those with a love of Polaroid, but also for anyone with a keen interest in the history of photography --Amateur Photographer

[a] comprehensive look at a type of photography that revolutionised the taking and making of pictures-- Black & White Photography Magazine

This is a book where text and images are neatly balanced, and the presence of each feels as important as the other--Photomonitor

This exceptional book by author heavily involved in Polaroid history, is a triumph. Buy it!--State Magazine

A great book, not just for those who love Polaroid, but anyone interested in the history of photography--Amateur Photographer

If you ever wondered anything about Polaroid photography,the science of the art, then all of your questions will no doubt be answered here. In fact, if you have a love for Polaroids you'll probably not be able to go away from this book without feeling uplifted and inspired --Shutterhub

About the Author

William A. Ewing is an author, a former director of the Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne, and a curator with the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography and the Fondation Carene, Switzerland.

Barbara P. Hitchcock is a writer and curator. Formerly Director of Cultural Affairs at Polaroid and Curator of the Polaroid Collections, Massachusetts, she serves on the Collections Committee of Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Deborah G. Douglas is Curator of Science and Technology and Director of Collections at the MIT Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Gary Van Zante is the curator responsible for design, photography, and architecture collections at the MIT Museum and the author of Public and Private: East Germany in Photographs by Ulrich Wust.

Rebekka Reuter is a curator of photography and a cultural scientist. She is currently Chief Curator of the WestLicht Museum for Photography and the OstLicht Gallery for Photography, both in Vienna.

Christopher Bonanos is a senior editor at New York magazine, and the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid.

Todd Brandow is the founder and executive director of the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis, New York and Lausanne.

Peter Buse is Associate Dean for Research, Arts and Social Sciences, at Kingston University, London, and the author of The Camera Does the Rest: How Polaroid Changed Photography.

Dennis Jelonnek is an author, art historian, and associate member of the Center for Advanced Studies "BildEvidenz: History and Aesthetics" at Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany.

John Rohrbach is Senior Curator of Photographs at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0500544735
• ISBN 13: 9780500544730
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288