About this artwork
In 1973 the Polaroid company gave Lucas Samaras an SX-70 camera that produced a new kind of photograph— what came to be known simply as a Polaroid. It featured the so-called integral system, in which the photograph is developed and fixed without the intervention of the pho-tographer. While watching the image forming, Samaras determined that the film’s image-receiving layer remained highly malleable for several minutes after it is ejected from the camera. Taking advantage of this feature, he manipulated this layer in a variety of ways to transform his images, blurring photography, drawing, and painting. A marvel of engineering and chemistry, instant integral films can contain as many as 20 layers. Because of this structural complexity, there is often little a conservator can do to repair a work once it has been damaged.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Photography and Media
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Artist
- Lucas Samaras
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Title
- Photo-Transformation
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality)
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Date
- Made 1976
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Medium
- Manipulated internal dye diffusion print.
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Inscriptions
- Unmarked recto; verso unchecked
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Dimensions
- Image: 7.9 × 7.8 cm (3 1/8 × 3 1/8 in.); Paper: 10.7 × 8.8 cm (4 1/4 × 3 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Purchased with funds provided by The Polaroid Corporation
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Reference Number
- 1989.110
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
