London, UK, Jan. 02, 2009. Bridgeman, the renowned fine art image library, has announced its latest collaboration: The Special Photographer’s Archive grew out of the worldwide movement in photography in the late 20th Century which rebelled against the sterile perfection that photography had become.
Masters degree students in photography departments of the most prestigious art colleges were exposed to all kinds of manipulative techniques and processes to create fantasy pictures and escape from the most obvious pictures of reality, and most of the contributors here are the graduates of that time.
Ewan Fraser is one such student who was encouraged to experiment, travelling to Italy and Greece to see the ancient murals and frescos firsthand and using different mediums within his work. He found that a more artistic abstract approach was needed as the rigidity of traditional photography seemed unfulfilling.
"We began to break the rules using the wrong chemistry, film stocks, even the wrong lighting…layering negatives together, using positives and negatives and producing huge prints of incredibly long exposures."
These techniques were considered controversial but worked to create a resulting effect that looked archaic and frail, reminiscent of very early photography, ancient frescos and murals.
"Nothing was sacred. We painted on bleached, scratched and burnt negatives and prints. By combining found textures and studio portraits I could bring more feeling and atmosphere to my work". Ewan Fraser
Adrian Gibbs, Collections Manager at Bridgeman said "We are very excited to now be representing this unique collection of photography, which in its referencing of art history complements and enhances Bridgeman’s existing portfolio very well".
The Special Photographer’s Archive currently comprises of over 2,000 images from a range of photographers encompassing every theme and subject imaginable, ranging from close ups of old books to twirling ballroom dancers and delicate frozen leaves. What unites the images is an artistic vision, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy to engage the heart, mind and soul as well as the eye.
About The Bridgeman Art Library
Founded in 1972, Bridgeman represents museums, galleries and artists throughout the world by providing a central source of fine art for image users. Many further images are available offline through our four offices in London, Paris, New York and Berlin and the archive is constantly growing. A team of specialists continue to search the art collections of the world to find new and exciting images for you to use.
Bridgeman also develops educational resource packages, publishes art catalogues, offers copyright advice, licenses reproduction rights and provides sales services. The organisation has a long history of feeding monies back into museums. For more information, please visit bridgemanart.com.
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