Negative/Positive
Many of the photographs in the Marriott C. Morris Collection come in the form of glass negatives. The negatives of people are especially arresting, their faces emerging like ghosts from the lightbox. While haunting, these negatives hide details about the sitter that only emerge when the positive image is created. Marriott C. Morris’ father Elliston P. Morris’ kind eyes are obscured in the negative version of his portrait but gaze out warmly from the positive image.
Negatives hide things but also reveal them. For example, in the negative view of Morris’ portrait the emulsion has been burnished around the face and small scratches made to emphasize areas of light and create shadow. This shows Marriott C. Morris’ hand not only in taking the photograph, but also the refinement of the negative, the physical act of dragging metal across glass.
Read more from Alison Van Denend, our former Assistant Project Manager for the Marriott C. Morris Photograph Collection.