Archivist Joe Struble (left) with Sarah and David Burton.

A view of images on the print rail.

Sarah Burton examines the royal family album.

The following details are from the album Famile Royal D’Angleterre, ca. 1863 (seen above). The images are printed by the van dyke brown process on silk (look closely and you can see the stiching and fabric folds).

 Queen Victoria

 Princess Louise

Princess Alexandra 

Prince Albert Victor 

 Princess Beatrice

Prince Leopold

View more of our The Photography Collection or browse selected sets on Flickr.

That was the feeling in the air at George Eastman House on Saturday, July 16, as National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter toured Eastman House.

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, left, and George Eastman House’s Tony Bannon discuss the three-strip Technicolor process in the camera gallery at Eastman House.

Hosted by Tony Bannon, the museum’s Ron and Donna Fielding Director, the guests were shown the Speed Graphic camera that shot the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima, displayed alongside the image, as well as a NASA Lunar Orbiter, Lumiere Cinematographe, and a three-strip Technicolor camera that had been used on studio lots for many celebrated MGM films.

And this was all before Landesman and Congresswoman Slaughter took their seats in the Dryden Theatre to experience films from the Eastman House motion picture archive, restored with the support from the NEA. The selected titles included the oldest film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910), an early sound film from Theodore Case (1925), screen tests from Gone With the Wind (1939), and a documentary directed by Paul Morrissey (1965).

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, tells why it’s important to support the arts in Rochester and nationally.

Slaughter, co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, is a longtime supporter of the arts as well as Eastman House, continuing to connect Rochester to the leadership of the arts in Washington, D.C. It for this tireless work the museum honored her with the inaugural George Eastman Medal of Honor in 2006.

The threads of George Eastman House are intertwined with those of federal agencies that serve the public, such as the Library of Congress and the National Archives. In this vein the museum’s collections and preservation schools and workshops have national and global reach and impact. But this, of course, cannot be achieved without support.

Both Landesman and Slaughter told local TV press how important it is to experience the country’s leading cultural organizations firsthand, in person.

“Film is a great art form, our cultural heritage, and right here is where it is preserved,” Landesman said. “Tony Bannon is a legend throughout the country for the work he does and we want to support him and George Eastman House.”

A private viewing in the Dryden Theatre of films from the Eastman House archive restored via support from the NEA. On the screen here is the oldest film version of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1910)

]]> http://blog.eastmanhouse.org/2011/07/18/experiencing-eastman-house-alongside-the-nea-chairman-and-congresswoman-louise-slaughter-2/feed/ 0 http://blog.eastmanhouse.org/2011/07/09/what%e2%80%99s-behind-the-glass-wall/ http://blog.eastmanhouse.org/2011/07/09/what%e2%80%99s-behind-the-glass-wall/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 13:17:01 +0000 Stacey VanDenburgh http://blog.eastmanhouse.org/?p=4379 Any visitor who comes in through the main entrance of George Eastman House will notice a large glass wall to the left. Through this glass you can see the Richard & Ronay Menschel Library, curatorial departments such as Motion Pictures, Photography and Technology, and a staircase that leads down to two more floors. While you don’t need to make an appointment to visit the Library (especially this summer, when due to a shelving project we are all enjoying a rare treat of the Library’s photo and cinema books and magazines temporarily relocated to our Entrance Gallery), you do need to make one to visit the archives that contain our spectacular collections.

 From time to time, we host visitors where I work: the Kay R. Whitmore Conservation Center. A few weeks ago we took a small group of friends interested in preservation ‘behind the glass’ and one floor down for a special tour of the photograph conservation laboratory. The purpose of this visit was to raise awareness of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s challenge grant.  Here’s some of what they saw:

A view of the Kay R. Whitmore Conservation Center.

 An accelerated tarnish experiment testing daguerreotype enclosures.

The Conservator’s tools of the trade.

Conservation practices at Eastman House are critical to the care of photographs we have in the collection, exhibit in our galleries, or loan out to other museums. When the department was established in 1974, it was the first of its kind dedicated solely to photograph conservation. For nearly 40 years, our conservators, fellows, and interns have contributed to the preservation of history and culture — through photographic objects — at Eastman House and at institutions around the world.

In the Whitmore Conservation Center, we conduct research and report findings on Notes on Photographs , in journals or at conferences. We also hold workshops on historic photo processes for collectors, artists, curators, members or anyone interested in the history of photography (we even get a chance to go one more floor down to see choice examples in our photography collection). Eastman House is helping to ensure that photographs made since the beginning of the medium in 1839 through today will exist for as long as possible in order to visually tell our collective stories— and its these stories we love to share and discover behind the glass wall.

We made the first batch of carbon tissues using casting frames, coating rods and our fingers so that everyone had the experience of trying different ways to make the tissues. After everyone made their initial exposure tests and first prints we made two new color batches of pigmented gelatin and prepped other support material; watercolor paper and glass.

David Developing Carbon

Drying Tissues

‘John Deere tractor’ Green Orotone

My demo in action

One of the colors that came from this freedom of extra time was a sort of John Deere tractor green. We also made a lovely cool blue tissue. One of the participants wanted to make a carbon transparency on glass and at the time thought he had chosen the blue tissue. He was really surprised when we turned on the white lights during the development and saw that his beautifully made transfer was actually green. When the plate was dry I held a sheet of bronze coated paper behind the image so the group could see how it would look as an orotone. The green wasn’t so bad.

The three-minute reel, which archivists estimate was filmed in 1861 or 1862, reveals an active battlefield as well as behind-the-scenes footage of Union soldiers in encampments and marching in formation.

After finding the unmarked reel and after determining its authenticity, Eastman House contacted filmmaker Ken Burns. He plans to visit the museum immediately to begin research.

“This moving footage would have significantly enhanced my Civil War documentary,” said filmmaker Ken Burns, who earned an Emmy® Award for his nine-part documentary The Civil War (1990), which featured thousands of still photographs. “We are seriously considering opening up the film to include this priceless new material.”

Eastman House preservation staff has painstakingly created digital scans of the rare and fragile footage, allowing for the creation of online video.

Click on the video link below to be among the first to witness history – the first motion pictures ever captured of the Civil War!

But by and large the collection is made up of thousands of films that film history has forgotten or ignored in the years and decades since their release. Now I’ll be honest some of these films have been forgotten for very good reasons. Sh! The Octopus, anyone?

Still others have been forgotten and neglected for reasons not of their making. Wonderful films that in some cases were trampled when American audiences were captured by the birth of the blockbuster. In 1977 filmmaker Mark Rappaport released Local Color.

"Local Color," 1977

Film Critic Roger Ebert called this funny, and melodramatic tale of the interconnected lives of New Yorkers “a strange and wonderful movie.” Shot in black-and-white, Local Color has the look and feel of another NYC-based film that would appear two years later, Woody Allen’s Manhattan. But like many films released in 1977, Local Color would never have a chance to find its wider audience as another little film steamrolled across American movie theaters. That film was Star Wars.

 The role that George Eastman House plays in Local Color happens 30 years later when Mr. Rappaport decided to entrust the original negatives of Local Color to the Motion Picture Department. Received in 2008, Local Color was almost immediately on our preservation radar.

By now Mr. Rappaport was a well-known and respected independent filmmaker of the 1980s and 1990s. Many of his films had garnered a following, but prints in screenable condition were quite rare. Initial inspection of the material also revealed something very troubling. The original picture negative was exhibiting signs of “vinegar syndrome.” Long-term exposure to above average temperatures and humidity cause film made on acetate film stock to give off an acetic acid, vinegar-like smell. This is usually just a sign of deeper problems. Film naturally shrinks over time and vinegar syndrome can expedite this process. The film can become warped. The photo emulsion can become soft causing the image to loss definition.

 Luckily for us and the film, preservation funding was obtained through the Avant-Garde Masters program funded by The Film Foundation and administered by the National Film Preservation Foundation. We worked with the Los Angeles-based laboratory Film Technology to preserve Local Color.

 Along with the original elements, brand new negatives now sit in our cold storage vault. New projection prints have been struck and are just beginning to make their way to screening venues. It is appropriate that our new preservation of Local Color was screened recently at Anthology Film Archive in New York City. Hopefully those audiences were able to rediscover the charms of Local Color.

It's the first day of AIPAD 2011 ...

 I’m in New York City for the annual AIPAD photography show at the Armory on Park Avenue. AIPAD is the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, and the fair brings dealers from around the world to New York City to sell everything from the finest vintage photographs to head-turning contemporary work.  Dealers bring what they think will sell, and each year their selection differs.

I have been to AIPAD shows in which I saw the same photograph in ten different booths; that’s not the case this year.  Yes, if you are looking for Ansel Adams’ “Moonrise Over Hernandez” or one of Aaron Siskind’s images from his Levitation series, you will have several places to compare prices. But by and large, there’s not a great deal of replication this year, and that makes for an interesting exhibition. 

Vintage photography "rules" at AIPAD.

Contemporary work showcased at AIPAD

Thousands are gathering today at the AIPAD fair.

Fun, too, to see the work of friends of George Eastman House on display. The Weinstein Gallery is featuring the work of Alec Soth, the Monroe Gallery is presenting the work  Steven Wilkes, Steve McCurry is well-represented by the Fetterman Gallery, and there are four galleries showing Alex Webb’s work – all these photographers have lectured at Eastman House in recent years. And the Julia Saul Gallery is exhibiting the work of Debbie Grossman, a native of Rochester whose photographic career is really taking off. 

For those interested in photographs as historical documents, there are few better places to be this weekend than AIPAD, where you can find photographs from the Civil War through the present day. A couple galleries, including Gallery 339 and Galerie Priska Pasquer, are sharing the work of contemporary Japanese photographers.  In fact, at Galerie Priska Pasquer, proceeds from sales of the work of Lieko Shiga are being donated to Japanese relief efforts.  Shiga’s home and studio were destroyed last week in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Sort of puts it all in perspective…. 

 Back to the show … if you’re here, hope you’ll say hello!

Daguerreotype of me posing for Mike Robinson.

Workshop attendee David Vogt sitting for the camera.

 David’s Daguerreotype.

Joe Struble and attendee Paul d’Orleans amazed by the results.

Mike and I will cross alternative process paths again this summer in July. France and I will be teaching the Dawn of Photography workshop [photogenic drawings], followed by a workshop on the Wet & Dry Collodion processes at Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England. The reunion will be complete because Roger Watson is now the curator of Fox Talbot Museum. As we’re packing up from the collodion workshop Mike will be prepping for a Daguerreotype workshop he’ll be teaching the next week.

As for me, it’s on to carbon printing next…!

Shhh… be very, very quiet… auction of American painting happening about 30 feet away

One of the two colorama prints in the live auction (safely tucked away!)  awaiting hanging

One portion of the online auction contents being sorted in preparation for hanging

And don’t forget…our Online Auction is going on right now!!!

Editor’s Note: You can see the latest behind-the-scenes pics on our Sotheby\’s Benefit Auction Facebook Photo Album.

Since January, I have been involved in the upcoming auction, and every day has been an enlightening experience as I continually gain insight into the TREMENDOUS effort that goes into organizing a benefit auction of this magnitude. There are still about 5 months to go before the main event and the online portion go live, and I can say that I am already overwhelmed by the response we have received from so many people we’ve reached out to.

Since I have the fortunate experience of working at a job where every day is like Christmas (and I get to  unwrap yet another fantastic donation), without further ado I introduce you to a donation that tickles me with delight every time I lay eyes on it. It’s one of two works we have by Cornell Capa, and it is titled Female Human Cannonball (1947)— a most fitting image as I embark on this new and adventurous fundraising extravaganza!

But this blog won’t just serve as an outlet for bragging rights about all of the fantastic works that have been donated. I’ll be giving you my take on some of the auction’s featured highlights, bringing you up-to-date information about the event, taking you behind-the-scenes, and keeping you all in the loop of the exciting announcements yet to come— because new things happen here every day!

Talk to you again soon….

Both students have been given the opportunity to work for one month in a film lab, preparing, printing, and preserving the films from the George Eastman House Collection as an extension to their studies in the field of film archiving.

Sabrina will be heading to Haghefilm laboratory in Amsterdam, Netherlands this August, where she will begin preservation on “Kodachrome Two-Color Test Shots No. III,” (1922) an early color test made by Kodak in their quest to find a marketable method of creating color motion picture film.  Once the project is complete, she will present her work at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy this October.

Elizabeth will be spending her time at Technicolor Lab in Los Angeles, California where she will be inspecting, printing and preserving “His Baby Doll” (1917), an early slapstick comedy short starring Malcolm St. Clair.  The story concerns a young man who is ready to be married.  Finding himself in charge of a small baby during his bachelor party, he is caught in hilarious circumstances of confusion and mayhem with his fiancée and his future father-in-law.

The Motion Picture Department staff is looking forward to both of these preservation projects and wishes both Sabrina and Elisabeth their warmest wishes in their future careers in film archiving.

Archivist Joe Struble practices his new Fire Fighting skills.

A cloud of white smoke could be seen rising from the parking lot at George Eastman House, however this was not smoke. Don Ezard, Head of Security, had been saving up old fire extinguishers so that staff could practice using a fire extinguisher, providing a hands-on experience with this safety tool and demystifying the device. About ten staff members were on hand for Don’s demonstration of the devices, and then each took turns emptying one from the pile. The smallest extinguishers only provided a few seconds of blast, and would be great for small fires, but some of the larger cans would have allowed for extended use.

So what did I take away?

1. The most important part of fire safety is making sure that people are safe. If the fire is too big, leave it to the professionals.
2. To Use a Fire Extinguisher
   1. Operate the Extinguisher from a safe distance.
   2. Pull the Pin: It is actually really easy to pull out, even if it has a plastic safety ring wrapped around it.
   3. Aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames!
   4. Squeeze the lever/handle slowly.
   5. Sweep from side to side while still aiming at the base of the fire.
3. Know where your fire extinguishers are located: you don’t want to be searching for one when the fire starts.
4. Fire extinguishers have a shelf life: Some of the oldest ones no longer worked or the hoses leaked when they were used.
5. The chemicals in the fire extinguisher can make a big mess and leave a residue behind, so thanks to those who cleaned up ours yesterday!

 For more photos click here.

It was at this meeting that it was decided  email would be the way people gave us their photographs. It seemed like a reasonable way to do it. And it is, if the number of submissions is, say, 40, or even 100. But when you get 1,000 or more submissions, suddenly the notion of downloading 1,000 picture-laden emails, reformatting every one to conform to a common format, printing it out, and attaching it to the wall becomes daunting.

And daunting it was. As you can see below, the unsung heroes of creative services (with help from the Department of Photographs) spent tireless hours formatting, printing, cutting, and hanging.

For the upcoming exhibition Picturing Rochester, things need to be different. We will not have the luxury of time when it comes to hanging the fall shows, so the entire process needs to be efficient. And for all its success, the submission process for  Why Look at Animals? was not efficient.

The answer? Build a community submission tool.

Instead of email, submitters fill out a simple form that sends us the picture. From there, the picture and information go into a database, from where we can review the submissions and make any necessary adjustments.

This interface also allows printing in high resolution, right in our staff’s web browsers. No more single email account where everything goes, and no more reformatting by hand! The result?

It’s still not 100% done, but its a good start, and a good deal faster than doing everything by hand!

Installation Shots of Why Look at Animals? by Barbara Galasso, Museum Photographer
Photograph of the PicturingRochester test installation by Todd Gustavson, Curator of Technology

That being said, I come to you today with two distractions to share.

The first, some meta-photography relating to Jessica’s post on megalethoscopes, taken by our photographer, Barbara Galasso.

Box o' megalethoscope slides ready to go.

megalethoscope slides laid out for digitization

The Big Moment

Ensuring accurate color

The second distraction is your very own portable megalethoscope projector  (online!).

It’s way unrefined, really a quick and dirty test of what may be a more robust project later.. but in the meantime, enjoy it, and if you can’t figure out how to get it to work, drop me a line.