In 1842 Sir John Herschel decided that the Daguerreotype, the first photographic printing process, was too expensive, difficult and potentially lethal. Thus, he invented in that year the printing process to which he gave the name Cyanotype. It produced a monochromatic Prussian blue photographic print on inexpensive materials such as paper or cloth.
Presenters: Tricia Rosenkilde Robert A. Schaefer
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 5 Uplands
Presented by:
In 1842 Sir John Herschel decided that the Daguerreotype, the first photographic printing process, was too expensive, difficult and potentially lethal. Thus, he invented in that year the printing process to which he gave the name Cyanotype. It produced a monochromatic Prussian blue photographic print on inexpensive materials such as paper or cloth.
The Penumbra Foundation | Center for Alternative Photography will offer an introduction workshop to the Cyanotype Process. Participants of the workshop will be given a piece of paper pre-coated with the Cyanotype synthesizer on which they will place small objects (also supplied) before putting this assembly in sunlight. After the exposure, the paper will then be developed in a tray of tap water. This workshop is especially designed to introduce children to the Cyanotype Process; however, adults are certainly welcome to participate. Materials are provided, though small, transparent and/or translucent objects may be brought to the workshop as well as black and white negatives up to 5″ x 7″.
Born in New Jersey, Tricia Rosenkilde studied at Rutgers University where she received a BFA in painting and Art History in 1983. Her initial studies in painting transformed into an interest in photography when she spent a period of several years traveling and living in Europe, Australia and India. She is currently based in New York City, where she works as a freelance photographer and has taught alternative processes at Parsons School of Design and the Center for Alternative Photography.
Robert A. Schaefer began his photography career while studying and getting his MA Degree (Diplom Ingenieur) at the Technische Universität of Munich, Germany. With exhibitions in Munich, Frankfurt, Hannover, Hamburg, Paris and Graz, he moved to New York in 1981 where he began working with alternative printing processes from the 19th Century including the Van Dyke Process. This summer, he will spend an entire month at the Can Serrat Artist Colony outside Barcelona, Spain to produce a new body of Van Dykes and Cyanotypes. Schaefer currently teaches various photography courses at New York University, and the Domeischel Gallery in New York City handles his work.
Penumbra Foundation is a nonprofit organization that brings together the art and science of photography through education, research, outreach, and public and residency programs. Our goal is to be a comprehensive resource for photographers at any level, artists, students, professionals, historians, researchers, conservators, and curators.
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