Christina Z Anderson - Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice

CYANOTYPE
The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice

Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice is a two-part book on the much admired blue print process. highlights contemporary artists who are using cyanotype, making work that ranges from the photographic to the abstract, from the traditional to the conceptual, with tips on their personal cyanotype methods alongside their work. These artists illustrate cyanotypes widespread use in contemporary photography today, probably the most of any alternative process.

Book features include:

A brief discussion of the practice of the process with some key historical points

How to set up the cyanotype dimroom

The most extensive discussion of suitable papers to date, with data from 100+ papers

Step-by-step digital negative methods for monochrome and duotone negatives

Chapters on classic, new, and other cyanotype formulas

Toning to create colors from yellow to brown to violet

Printing cyanotype over palladium, for those who want to temper cyanotypes blue nature

Printing cyanotype on alternate surfaces such as fabric, glass, and wood

More creative practice ideas for cyanotype such as handcoloring and gold leafing

Troubleshooting cyanotype, photographically illustrated

Finishing, framing, and storing cyanotype

Contemporary artists advice, techniques, and works

Cyanotype is backed with research from 120 books, journals, and magazine articles from 1843 to the present day. It is richly illustrated with 400 photographs from close to 80 artists from 14 countries. It is a guide for the practitioner, from novice to expert, providing inspiration and proof of cyanotypes original and increasing place in historical and contemporary photography.

CHRISTINA Z. ANDERSONS work focuses on the family snapshot and contemporary vanitas printed in a variety of 19th century photographic processes. Andersons work has shown internationally in 110+ shows and 40+ publications. She has authored books which have sold in 40 countriesThe Experimental Photography Workbook, Gum Printing and Other Amazing Contact Printing Processes, Gum Printing, A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice, and Salted Paper Printing, A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists, along with Handcrafted: The Art and Practice of the Handmade Print (in Chinese) coauthored with Samuel Wang, S. Carl King, and Zhong Jianming. Cyanotype is her sixth book. Anderson is Series Editor for Focal Press/Routledges Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography series and Professor of Photography at Montana State University. To see her work, visit christinaZanderson.com .

Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography Series

Series Editor: Christina Z. Anderson

The Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography series focuses the lens on a variety of alternative, historical processes from the mediums 180-year history. Each book outlines a step-by-step approach to a particular medium, and features contemporary artists who use that process regularly in their practice. The richly illustrated books in this series serve as guidebooks for those new to alternative processes, refresher courses for professionals already familiar with each medium, and a source of inspiration for all.

CYANOTYPE

The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice

CHRISTINA Z. ANDERSON

First published 2019

by Routledge

52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2019 Taylor & Francis

The right of Christina Z. Anderson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Anderson, Christina Z., author.

Title: Cyanotype : the blueprint in contemporary practice / Christina Z. Anderson.

Description: London; New York : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Contemporary practices in alternative process photography series | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018049120 | ISBN 9781138338845 (hbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138338838 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780429441417 (ebk)

Subjects: LCSH: Blueprinting. | Photography, Artistic.

Classification: LCC TR415 .A53 2019 | DDC 770--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018049120

Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro and Century Gothic

by Christina Z. Anderson

Cover image: Spring Breeze Sam Wang 2018

Publishers Note:

This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the author.

Also by Christina Z. Anderson:

The Experimental Photography Workbook (2012)

Gum Printing and Other Amazing Contact Printing Processes (2013)

Handcrafted: The Art and Practice of the Handmade Print (2014, 2015)

1st edition Chinese only, 2nd with an English insert, coauthors Jianming, King, Wang

Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice (2017)

Salted Paper Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists (2018)

Exercise caution in the handling of all photographic chemicals. Use of any such chemicals constitutes some risk, and some are poisonous. The publisher and author accept no responsibility for injury or loss arising from the procedures or materials described in this book whether used properly or improperly. The workplace should be well ventilated. Chemicals should be mixed only in the manner described. Avoid contact between the chemicals and eyes, skin, clothing, and furniture. Do not eat or drink while using chemicals. Keep them away from pets and children. Wear protective eye wear and gloves if necessary. In short, be mindful of all safety procedures for yourself and others.

Dedicated to
Sam Wang, John Jackson,
and Sandy King,
my partners
in cyanotype research

Figure P.1. Veneration, from the Untamed series, traditional cyanotype stained with Lipton tea on Japanese Kitakata paper, 16 20 Jaime Aelavanthara 2014. Poet Mary Oliver stated, I think when we lose the connection with the natural world, we tend to forget that were animals, that we need the Earth. And that can be devastating. Untamed articulates humankinds capacity to decay as a marker of our identity. Set in the natural places where one confronts life and death, growth and decay, these self portraits reflect on our transient, temporal lives that are each connected through the shared human condition. I reimagine the feral woman archetype, a strong woman who collects the bones, branches, and flora and treads with the animals, both dead and living. The otherworldly narrative is emphasized through the use of the cyanotype process, which shifts focus from potentially colorful landscapes and figures to patterns, textures, and the relationships of forms within the images. Tea-staining the prints dulls the blue and adds warmth, mimicking the earth tones encountered in the wilderness. Printing on Japanese Kitakata paper, which is prone to ripping, tearing, and wrinkling during processing, reflects the deterioration of nature and adds a feeling of fragility. Displayed unframed, the tea-stained prints are reminiscent of animal hides, and the prints are fastened delicately to the walls like tanned skins.