Polaroid Transfers

!±8± Polaroid Transfers

In the mid-196os, as the story goes, a researcher at Polaroid Corporation's Cambridge headquarters inadvertently left a Polacolor ER negative lying face down on a counter's surface. When he picked it up later, he discovered that the image had transferred to the countertop. He and other researchers began playing with this "image-transfer" process until Polaroid's founder, Dr. Edwin Land, found out about it and discouraged the experimentation in no uncertain terms. Thus, the transfer process went underground. When it resurfaced in the 1970s, word spread, and soon professional and amateur photographers alike found that the technique gave their images a unique look. Transferring images onto surfaces as varied as fabric, wood, and watercolor paper, they discovered that their conventional photography took on the delicate hues of old fresco painting.

Image transfer is often described as a "crossover" art form, one that blurs the distinction between conventional photography and handcrafted art, such as painting. Unlike the precise images of photographic prints, image transfers suggest a moody, dream-like world. From a creative point of view, image transfers are appealing because they offer a way to individualize and further personalize photographs. A wide range of subject matter, from portraits to landscapes, can take on the vintage look of old photographs or of fine-art prints, or lend a distinctive look to commercial advertising.

In 1991, another variation with Polacolor ER film was discovered in Europe: emulsion transfers. A pioneer was Paris photographer Christophe Madamour, who discovered the technique late one night in his kitchen as he was pushing the limits of Polacolor film. By 1993, Polaroid's technical specialist, Mike Doukas, had learned about the "emulsion-lift" technique in Europe, and he set out to make the process safe. The Fall/Winter 1994 issue of Polaroid's Test magazine featured emulsion transfers, and Polaroid began including the technique in its seminars. Photographers started experimenting with the wild effects of removing the top image layer of Polacolor ER prints, stretching and sculpting the transparent emulsion, and placing it on a multitude of surfaces that included glass, stone, and Mylar. The new, innovative technique of emulsion transfer has taken the transfer process farther than anyone thought possible, opening up unlimited possibilities for the creative imagination.

I first discovered Polaroid image transfer at a San Francisco meeting of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) in iggi. A representative from Polaroid demonstrated this alternative photographic process at the meeting, and each participant had the opportunity to create several transfers. Most of the transfers I made were successful. I was excited about the artistic possibilities the process offered and bought a Vivitar slide printer.