Cyanotypes utilize iron salt solutions and the sun to produce a blue-green print of a photographic image.
The Workshop/How to:
1. Using a photo-editing software, turn your image black & and white and invert it to produce a digital negative.
2. Print this image onto some Mylar.
3. Though there's a specific chemical composition for the solution, we just used a cyanotype kit and mixed the solution accordingly.
4. Coat your watercolor paper in the cyanotype solution and leave to dry in a dark place. It is important that the paper not be exposed to light. Note: You can also use fabric or wood or other materials for this step.
5. Once dry, attach your mylar paper to the cyanotype-coated paper with some tape and take it outside to expose it. Leave it in the sun for about 10 minutes, depending on how sunny it is outside.
6. Remove the mylar paper and look at your beautiful print!
Images from the process are shown below.
Reflection
Making these cyanotypes were almost addicting because of how easy it is and how beautiful the images are. By transforming these digital images into a physical photograph, the contents of the image felt more real. With all the digital images we take nowadays, it was nice to have something more physical to keep.
I took a more literal spin on the theme of "History" we were told to follow. The picture I chose to replicate was one that I took two summers ago when I visited my family in the Philippines. In it stands my grandpa ("Tatang"), a bunch of my cousins, and my uncle Rony at his wedding. Rony is my mother's brother. The picture is actually a picture of a picture that I took on my phone to keep for myself. On the top left corner you can see my thumb peaking on the side. I'm now part of the photo, like an afterthought, and in a new dimension and time period. The wedding occurred long before I was born and in a country far far from the United States. Just as my finger is sitting on the sidelines of the image, so am I. But I am still there. That's still part of my history.
Applications
I researched the history of cyanotyping and found that it originated from astronomer John Herschel who needed a way to copy his notes in 1842. In 1843, Anna Atkins then utilized this cyanotyping process to showcase images of plants in her book "British Algae: Cyanotype impressions". This process of cyanotyping is also called blueprinting. Her images are below.
My favorite thing about these images is the contrast in opacity of the plant leaves. It makes them look so delicate and beautiful. I also love the blue of the first image because of how dark and royal it looks. I feel like that image may be edited.
Knowing that the history of cyanotyping stemmed from a scientific need, I was immediately intrigued. Atkins' images were not intended for aesthetic purposes, but rather to showcase whats these plants looked like. On a phone call with a neuroscience researcher one day, I brought up this interesting fact. We were discussing the intersection of the arts and sciences, a topic that still fascinates me, and she brought up how brain imaging techniques yield beautiful images as well.
Here are some images of stained brain slides for imaging and identification purposes.
Top left: Individual brain neurons in different colors. ( https://www.minnesotamonthly.com/featured/the-beautiful-brain/)
Top right: Quadriceps nerve of a mouse inside Schwann cells. Myelin stained red, axons are blue. ( https://www.brainfacts.org/brain-anatomy-and-function/cells-and-circuits/2012/image-of-the-week-quad-nerves)
Bottom left: Rat hippocampus with various stains. ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rat_hippocampus_stained_with_antibody_to_NeuN_(green),_myelin_basic_protein_(red)_and_DNA_(blue).jpg)
Bottom right: Hippocampus with "Brainbow" staining. ( https://xcorr.net/2016/01/03/exercise-be-smarter-save-time/ )
This is something I now do as an Undergraduate Researcher at the Traumatic Nerve Technologies Lab (TNT) under Dr. VandeVord. We utilize 30 µm thick slides of rat brain tissue extracted post-blast and stain them using antibody markers to track microglial aggregation. The cool thing is, the antibody markers can be any color of the rainbow (as long as it is compatible with the slide you want to stain), therefore these images turn out breathtakingly beautiful.
Though this is not the same as cyanotyping, I think it shows an amazing example of something more "scientific" becoming a work of art. It yields the question of what truly is art? Must it have intention? I don't think so...
I began looking at artists who utilize this cyanotyping technique in their work. John Neff caught my attention. Images of his work are below.
Credit: https://sophieartstudio.tumblr.com/post/118193793297/artist-john-neff-in-his-large-scale-cyanotype
The choppy nature of the images in combination with the boxy frame he hangs them on is just so beautiful. This juxtaposes the fluid, curvy form of the human body that the images showcase. The empty space in the frame also makes it seem like the person is just standing right in front of me, rather than being an image hanging on the wall.
Another artist whose work gives cyanotypes a different form is Meghann Miepenhoff. Her work reminds me of The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai with the white and blue contrast and the foamy splashes. I wonder what she laid on top of the paper to get this type of image.
I also bought a cyanotype kit for personal use, so when I get around to making some prints I'll upload them here.
History:
Comments