A Graduate Student's Field Guide to the Dark Room

Research and information to navigate historical and non-silver photographic processes... and maybe grad school. http://rachelrushing.com

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An Artist's Ark Meets Its Fate on Lake Superior

DULUTH, Minn. — It was a magnificent sight when it first launched. Floating 20 feet from shore, Sean Connaughty’s “Ark of the Anthropocene” seemed to glow on the dark waves of Lake Superior, drawin...

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A Manifesto For The Support and Encouragement of (the Creative) Community

I wrote the following after an amazing trip to New York City for a photography class about professional practices. These are the things I want to remind myself of as I keep creating.  ~Rachel 

Allow yourself to be genuinely respectful, interested, and encouraging.

Have no tolerance for petty rivalry.

Treat your creative family like the essential inspiration that they are. 

Support each other in all of your efforts.

Don't be lazy- be encouraging.

Celebrate the possibilities of your futures.

Be patient.

Always communicate

Help each other out when you've got deadlines- you know how crazy that gets so be their rock when they need it and be the first to hand them a drink when the deadline is met. 

Don't worry about malicious people- their dishonesty and miserableness will come back to haunt them anyways.

When life is going great, go get drinks together. When life is going horribly, go get drinks together. 

Live a life of harmony. Surround yourself with good friends. 

Never assume you have it figured out or that you've "made it." Chances are, you're probably not going to get paid for the next job you do. 

Don't waste your time trying to ruin other people's work, lives, or reputation. A bad reputation will find it's way into the open all by itself. 

Worry about yourself and your own attitude. Take care of your own business and make sure you're not focusing on what you think other people have, want, or think. 

If someone has wronged you in some way, buy them a drink and ask them about their work. It's really difficult to hold a grudge against someone when they've taken an interest in you and want to help you achieve your goals. 

[hyperallergic]

“Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not obtained by sentimental blackmail.”

Jean Cocteau (via Weekend Words: Value)

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Reading, reading, reading

Things I've read today: 

The chapter on Description in Terry Barrett's Criticizing Art

Scopic Regimes of Modernity by Martin Jay

Semigloss Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 1 (cover to cover)

Things I know I don't know:

Cartesian philosophy 

What the hell is phenomenology?!

How am I going to renovate my studio for displaying work?

Does anything I do make sense?

Is everything I do totally shallow?

I don't know enough of my peers on a personal level. I just need to hang out with you all. 

Renaissance perspectivism vs. Dutch descriptivism vs. Baroque Idon'tknowwhatisgoingon

Things up next to read:

Stuff about Joseph Bueys

Stuff about Ann Hamilton 

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In front of the lens, I am at the same time: the one I think I am, the one I want others to think I am, the one the photographer thinks I am, and the one he makes use of to exhibit his art.

Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida

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Iris Blossoms and Leaves. Both parts of this plant work exceptionally well. This was the first plant I've worked with that produced more emulsion than the water I filtered it through. The purple flowers produced a blue emulsion and the leaves a bright green. Both elements exposed well with great contrast. 

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Verbena. These made a soft, light green emulsion with equivalent print quality. 

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Mum Leaves. I've decided no mum blooms work for this process, but the leaves work adequately. They produce a soft, yellow-earth image. 

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Small purple wildflowers. There were not enough of these to produce a usable emulsion, though they rubbed out a vibrant hue. 

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Light pink wildflower (East Texas). I was rightly skeptical about these plants. There was hardly any pigment and they produces an extremely slimy emulsion. I didn't waste my time trying to work with this. 

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'Knockout' Roses (which is the only thing I could come up with after a 5 minute google search, so a.k.a. the roses from my apartment). Great a rich magenta emulsion (similar to Stock), and exposed a deep teal. 

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Yellow wildflowers (East Texas). Some bright pigment, but very low contrast. 

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Wild Indian Paintbrush (Northeast Texas). As promising as these plants looked, they created a dull pigment that was too light to provide any kind of dense contrast. A bit of a let down. 

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Pansy leaves. For some reason I can't find any prints made with these. I'm not sure if the emulsion was too slimy or just didn't create a strong enough pigment to be worth using. 

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More kale.