Next month, on May 1, the exhibition, “In Honour of Archer” will open in London. There will be close to thirty 
Frederick Scott Archer, 1813 - 1857pieces of artwork in the show. All of the work is Collodion or Collodion-based from artists all over the world working in the Collodion process. I can’t over emphasize the importance of this exhibit and event. Not only for today, moreover, for posterity.
Every once in a while, there’s an opportunity to contribute and be involved in something that will be far more important in the future than it is today. The problem is being able to recognize those opportunities and then having the chutzpah to make the sacrifices to get “some skin in the game”.
“In Honour of Archer”, is one of those opportunities that I can say with great confidence, will take its place in history. It’s bigger than all of us. It’s its own thing, like a mountain so high that it generates its own weather system. It has its own energy, we’re just trying to keep up.
The work presented in the show will have a certain gravitas, too. A provenance, if you will. In this case, the context of the work is much greater than the work itself. I don’t mean that in the pejorative, I really like the work that has been submitted, I mean that in the way that this isn’t “just another exhibition”. I mean that the photographs in this exhibition are forever connected to this event. It’s the connection that gives this purpose – that’s what makes this so important. I wonder if people get that.
A hundred years from now, no one will know or care what you or I did today. We may see what we’re doing in our daily lives as important, but no one will remember. No one will care. John Popper, from the Blues Traveler band, has a great lyric in a song called, “100 Years”. It sums up the ephemeral nature of our day-to-day existence. He says,
“Big angry man in the doorway there
Just keep on walking like I don't care
Why you giving such an evil eye
Could it be you were ignored by every passerby
And it won't mean a thing in a hundred years
No, it won't mean a thing in a hundred years”
Our death denial illusions are exposed and open for G-d and the world to see them when we talk about our achievements for future generations. However, in my opinion, this event transcends those illusions. This is one of those things that we all know is the right thing to do. So why has it taken 157 years?
I feel neither allegiance nor indebtedness to anyone except Archer when it comes to the Wet Plate Collodion process. Without Archer, and some others in the 19th Century, Collodion would have been a shelved process, at least as far as we know it today. He’s never received the recognition or the proper acknowledgments from his country, the big photography museums or the academic establishments. They should be embarrassed and ashamed. I'm glad, however, that like people us, the Collodion Collective, were able to come together and make his commemoration what it should be.
Unfortunately, as Parker and Stone said, "Sometimes what's right isn't as important as what's profitable." In that context, this is not, “just another exhibition”.
Thank you to everyone that participated in any way – you’ve done a great thing!
The Paris Exhibition Part One
I’m sitting here exhausted and elated. I’ve just returned from 9 days in Paris. Needless to say, a lot happened. First I want to thank Jeanne, Summer, Olivier, Pierre, and William. Without you, none of this would have happened. There’s nothing that compares to having people in your life that care about you and support you – thank you, merci, thank you, merci!
Leica Group member - he volunteered for the demo - a portrait.
For me, this event was like the striking of a match (wood stick match). If you watch closely, you can see the phosphorus burn and ignite the wood. So now, my match is burning – in the center of Paris, France. It’s a good feeling.
While I’ve had other exhibitions and have shown my work in some great places, this exhibition is extremely important for me. First, it’s in Paris, France – the birthplace, or home of photography. I’ve always dreamed of showing my work in Paris. Any artist/photographer would say the same. Also, the Parisians/French have a particular love for the art of photography. It makes sense that they would. As you can imagine, I spoke with a lot of people over the last week about my work. Never before have I had so many people make comments about my photographs being important for something beyond the process. In other words, it’s not just the Wet Plate Collodion process that makes the work interesting. The concept of the work goes beyond the craft, or better yet, compliments the craft. Every time I heard that, I was overjoyed – that means a lot to me. It’s too easy to get caught up in craft and forget the concept. I heard none of that in Paris. I’ve always said that the French and Spanish have a certain sensibility when it comes to my work. They “get it”.
Along with their photography culture, I also love the French for their food culture. We were treated to some of the best places to eat in the center of Paris. One afternoon, we had lunch with Jeroen and Geert-Jan, friends from Holland, in a restaurant that is in the oldest house in Paris (1407). It was surreal, and delicious. And Pierre and Olivier treated us to an incredible dinner at L’Autobus Impérial (check out the video). The food there was unbelievably good, not to mention the wine and final drink at the bar (the flaming cocktail).
The opening of my show was terrific. There were more people there than you could count. A big turn out – it really surprised me. My good friend, Bart from Moscow was there, thank you for your support! And Vernon and Christian came from Germany for the opening, thank you! Christian, that photo you made of me by camera is the best I’ve ever seen – we need to talk.
Pierre worked with the bartender from L’ Autobus and made a special drink/cocktail for my opening. It was like a Black Russian with wine and some other things, we called it, “Black Collodion”. It was delicious – I think I had four glasses of it! There were people from all over Europe that came to see the work. It humbled me, to say the least. After the opening, about fifteen of us went out for Japanese food – I had sushi and Sake – it was terrific!
I did a public demonstration on Tuesday for about seventeen people. It went very well. I made two Whole Plate portraits of two people in the audience. My friend, Chris Nisperos, kindly translated for those that didn’t speak English.
Wednesday was the “Portrait Day” that almost turned into Thursday. I started at about 10AM, and with the help of Jeanne and Summer, I went until almost midnight making portraits of Parisians that lined up at the studio door. I poured was over 40 plates that day/night! The largest number of plates I’ve ever made in one day/night – and most of them were Whole Plate or 8”x10”. If that doesn’t test your Collodion fortitude, I don’t know what does. I made portraits of some very important people (they were all important, I should say “known” people), too. Well connected in the photography world. One was the managing editor of Photo Magazine. I’m doing an interview this week with them for an article.
Thursday was day one of Workshop #1 – seven people. There was a writer/photographer from Réponses Photo magazine in this workshop. I’m looking forward to a cover and several inside pages in the April or May issue. It was a great group of people and an excellent workshop.
That evening, I did a “perfomative lecture” for the Paris Photo Group (from Bievre). I got to see Marie Jo, the president of the group and we chatted a little bit about the photo fair in June. It will be another banner year! The group seemed to enjoy what they saw and asked a lot of engaging questions. It was a very large group.
Friday, I finished up Workshop #1 and prepared for Workshop #2 that started bright and early on Saturday. Workshop #2 had five people in it. Great group! They made some really nice photographs and seemed to take to Collodion like they had been doing it for years. Saturday night we enjoyed a very nice meal at L’ Autobus (see above).
On Sunday, I gave another “performative lecture” to the Leica Group of Paris. The image above is the demonstration portrait I made. I wish it were higher quality, but trust me, his beard looked wonderful! This group also seemed to enjoy what they saw. I was happy to do “perform” for them, too.
So, in a nutshell, this is what happened; I had an opening of a large exhibition. I sold several pieces the first couple of days and several more are reserved (this blew my mind). I taught 13 people the Wet Plate Collodion process. I made almost 50 portraits. I did three “performative lectures” and I’ve been published in over a dozen French magazines. All of this would not have been possible without the support of my friends and family, thank you very, very much!
Centre Iris Gallery 238 rue St Martin – Paris – The perfect venue for my work!
This is a short clip of me making Franck’s portrait. It was a beautiful image. He gave me a piece he made of me – a painting/photograph – gorgeous! Great guy and wonderful artist!
A slower, more complete look the day before the opening.
Summer shows off Jeff’s image – and some other large prints in the show.
We all enjoyed this "fire" drink at L’ Autobus Imperial one of Pierre's inventions – nice!
Spanish Magazine Features My Work
If there's one constant in life and art, it's change. And I'm learning to embrace it.
After some serious soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that my work falls under one main idea - one thought - “the other”. I can't distinguish any longer between a portrait of a mentally challenged trash man in Utah or an image of a smokestack next to a (former) concentration camp in Germany. The theme and ideas are the same to me now.
To my mind, my work is about difference (I often refer to this as, "the other") and memory. It's an investigation about how we see each other and what that means in our daily lives. The memory is both personal and universal - do we learn anything from the past, or is it something we ignore and/or deny? I want my work to question self-consciousness, too. I request that the viewer think about themselves from the inside out, not outside in - a unexamined life...
I heard a comment about the words, "equal" and "the same", last night on the radio. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so it was a good time to reflect on equality, difference, and sameness.
I came to realize that I don't want everyone to be the same, but I want equality. In a perfect world, we would all be equal (rights, respect, etc.) and we would embrace one another's differences. That's in a perfect world. I suppose that's what I try to do. In a circuitous way, I try to celebrate the differences between us. I enjoy a unique face as much, or more, than a "beautiful" face, etc. etc.
I am infinitely infatuated with difference (in a good way). I think I equate difference/uniqueness with awareness somehow. I don't mean that in the sense of trends or fads, but in the sense of being who you are, fully aware of that (internally) and letting the world deal with it - not the other way around.
That brings me to the intent of my blog; a Spanish online magazine called, "1:1Foto Magazine" out of Madrid has featured some of my work in this issue. You can see it here or click on the image to go to the site. They are a great group of people and actually understand what I'm doing and have done. Muchas gracias!
I'm very happy to be making work, thinking, dreaming and living more as an artist now. I will continue to work toward being more self-aware and not being disconcerted about being who I am. And I'll continue to make work in that context with the hope of teaching myself, and others, tolerance.
Thomas Huxley said, "Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."
The Frederick Scott Archer Project
The Wet Plate Collodion Day Book 2009 I’m pleased to share this link with you; it’s the CiM (Creative Image Maker Magazine) Winter 2010 (print edition). I wrote an article for this issue. It’s about the Frederick Scott Archer Project.
I hope you buy the magazine, read the article (and look at the Wet Plate Collodion photographs), and then buy the Wet Plate Day Book and feel so moved that you make a cash donation to the project (wink, wink) - I’m just saying, "I hope".
Seriously, I do hope people get on board with this project. I’m just a few c-notes shy of making the bank transfer to London. If you can, please donate (sales@studioQ.com), or support the effort by buying a book.
This is a great cause and I know we can make our goal and make this happen. It’s been a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice to get this far. I know times are tough, and money’s scarce, but if you, please help.
As the time gets closer, I’ll post more information about the ceremony and the events. The Collodion Community thanks you for your support!
Gold Toned Waxed Salt Print From a Wet Collodion Negative
10" x 8" Gold Toned/Waxed Salt Print from a Wet Plate Collodion Negative
Because of the finish on the print, this didn't photograph very well (too much contrast). But you can get the idea. I "cooked" the print a little too long, too. I usually have a problem with not exposing long enough (printing out), but these print out pretty fast and I'm using my BLBs.
This was made with artificial light - 2 minutes 45 second exposure and I used an iodine/pyro re-development on the negative.
Artist's Statement via Video
I've been meaning to post the work I did in 2005 for a very long time. I made this video for graduate school. Not many people have seen it. It's a 20 minute video that explains who I am, what I do and why. You could call it an artist's statement, but it's a lot more than that. For me, it covers both context and intention. The two most important ingredients for an artist. If you invest 20 minutes of your time, you will learn why I make photographs and what drives me to make art.
In these videos, I talk about where I grew up, what I saw, who I was around and some of the questions that came from my youth and the people I knew then. To sum it up, it's about the questions that I never had answered about people who are different. It's about how we define "different" and how "different" should be viewed.
In the video, I interview some of my sitters. I let them answer some basic questions about themselves and the project. Some of the material is for mature audiences - please be aware of that before you watch them. Some of the content could be very disturbing for some viewers.
Please remember, this is not documentary work, this is art, my personal expression, my opinion, my questions, etc. There is no need to email me about exploiting people or "crossing the line". These images, interviews and concepts belong to me and the people who chose to help me explore them. The people in these videos are my friends. In fact, I consider them my family in a lot of ways. They are kindred spirits.
"Those who know how to look will learn from his clear and powerful photographs, and will discover more about themselves and more about others."
Writer Alfred Döblin commenting on August Sanders’ work.
A 20 minute video about Quinn's background, process and interview with a couple of his sitters.
Alternative Process Photography and Science Meet at the Getty
Getty just published a nice (technical) article on alternativephotography.com. My portion of the piece is about halfway down the page (embedded screenshot). 
Preserving the Chemical Photography Era
The project is called, “Preserving the Chemical Photography Era”. A very important project. I’m honored to participate. I have some more work to do for them, too; negatives, Albumen print, and some unvarnished pieces.
I’m not sure who the Bulgarian is they are referring to in the article. I’ll have to find out. I’m not sure what else you would call a Collodion image made on aluminum other than an Alumitype.
I need to update my gallery on alternativephotography. There are Collodion photographs there from 2003 and 2004! The images aren’t bad, but you can really see where I was (technically) at the time.
My Paris Show Part One: Preparing
This isn't the first time you've heard me talk about (or read me write about) my show in Paris. And I can assure you, it won't be the last.
I'm excited beyond words. I'm completely focused on making this the best it possibly can be. So, if I seem aloof, slow to respond or appear to be dropped-out, you know what I'm doing and where my head is!
The Centre-Iris Gallery has started to publicize the events. There will be a few highlights; first, the exhibition (of course!). I will be showing both of my projects; work that I made in the United States and my current European project. I'll have about 50 images from the project, "Portraits from Madison Avenue". I will also have several pieces, I'm not exactly sure how many, of my new project, "Vergangenheitsbewältigung" (loose translation: "struggling to come to terms with the past"). I'm still working on this project, but I hope to have quite a few pieces in this show.
The content and Collodion variants will span the gamut. There will be portraits, landscapes, still lifes, etc. There will be Black Glass Ambrotypes, Clear Glass Ambrotypes, Albumen prints, Salt Prints, Alumitypes, and Ferrotypes (Tintypes). I'm going to offer sell the work, too. This is a big deal for me and it's very important that I do this right!
Quinn making Pierre's portraits in Paris - June 2009
Secondly, I will be doing a public demonstration (performative lecture) the afternoon of the opening (March 9). I'll also be teaching two workshops during the week. If you're in, or near Paris, drop Centre-Iris Gallery an email and have them hold a spot for you!
And last, but not least, the gallery has asked me to do a "Portrait Day". This will be on March 10. People can come by the gallery and I will make a portrait for them (for a fee, of course). It was a hit in Paris last June. I would expect the same here, maybe even more people Oy! We'll see.
This is a gigantic logistical challenge. I'm going to rent a Volkswagon Van. I need to pack all of my artwork (huge space and very delicate items), Collodion equipment (dark-box, camera, lenses), chemistry and substrate, and luggage. And then we have to fit in it, too! I'm hoping this works! It's a four and a half hour drive to Paris. Have you ever driven in the city of Paris? Oy!
There will be more to follow... I promise.
The Getty & My Wet Plate Collodion Photographs
Last Friday, I received a package from The Getty Institute. It contained information about my photographs I submitted for their analysis and collection for the project, "Preserving the Chemical Photography Era".
It's packed with information about the Wet Plate Collodion images I submitted. There's a lot of "geeky" scientific stuff (Get Your Geek On!). I'm going to make some more images for them - they've asked for some specific things to help them with their research and moreover, for future generations. I believe that there will be a time, in the not-to-distance future, when "photo students" won't know what film is, let alone a process like Wet Plate Collodion. It makes me feel honored to be a part of this project!
The Getty paper. 
Analysis on my Collodion photographs 
Details of the analysis at the Getty.
New Wet Plate Collodion Camera & New Formats
I've got a new camera - an 8x10, Black Arts Camera - that Steve Silipigni built for me. The camera is new and I've chosen to work with some new formats, too.
For the duration of my project, and for the upcoming exhibition, I've decided that the square format and the landscape (4"x10") format will serve me better in what I want to do.
My new setup includes: 4"x4", 4"x5", 5"x7", 6"x6", 6.5"x8.5", 8"x8", 8"x10" and 4"x10".
The history of the square format in photography begins in 1929 with the introduction of the first Rolleiflex. The Rollei’s designers, Francke and Heidecke, had been producing various rectangular format cameras since about 1920. Their decision to make the Rollei a square format camera rather than a rectangular one was based on considerations specific to the twin lens reflex (TLR) configuration, rather than aesthetics. The elegant waist level viewing system of the Rollei would have been miserable to use sideways when a horizontal picture was desired.
Around the middle of the 20th century, talented photographers such as Richard Avedon, Robert Doisneau, and Irving Penn used the Rolleiflex camera in their portraiture and editorial work—choosing the Rollei. Diane Arbus, one of my major influences, made her incredible portraits with a Mamiya TLR. In all cases the resulting negatives were square.
Today, I made a few images. I made some 4"x4" images and 6"x6" images. Here's the most successful image from today.
I'm looking forward to working with these new formats and this new camera! We'll see what happens!
6" x 6" (15cm x 15cm) Black Glass Ambrotype