It’s hard to imagine just how different photography was back in 1948. The Speed Graphic was still the press camera of choice, large cumbersome 4x5 view cameras capable of only two shots per film back.
Households across the world snatched up Kodak Brownies in record numbers, happily waiting weeks, perhaps even months at a time to have their film developed. Photographer’s like Edward Weston and Paul Strand were still struggling to have their work recognized as legitimate art.
Dr. Edwin Land, the inventor of Polaroid photography had a dream and a vision. Land predicted, “[Photography] should be a medium that permits self-expression for many people with an artistic interest in the world around them.” It was with these words that a legendary collaboration began to take root.
It all started with Ansel Adams, who at the request of Dr. Land began shooting with Polaroid materials almost exclusively for several decades. He sent back to Land his technical observations and included with each report several experimental and exquisite photographs.
Adams’ attention to detail and photographic expertise allowed Land to refine instant photography. Their collaboration proved so successful he began recruiting other artists – most notably Paul Caponigro and William Clift in the late 1950’s.
By the late 1060’s, the Polaroid corporation decided to name their now valuable asset the Polaroid Collections. International artists were brought into the fold including David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Josef Sudek, and Sarah Moon.
Today, the Polaroid Collections contain more then 20,000 images, encompassing virtually every photographic genre. Materials range from transformed Polacolor prints, gelatin silver from Polaroid negatives, computer generated images captured on SX-70 film, transfer prints on paper, and of course 20x24-inch ultra large format captures. Artists in the collection include Andy Warhol, Timothy Greenfield Sanders, Joyce Tenneson, David Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.
Even in this modern day of digital advances, the Polaroid Collections remain a living, breathing, and thriving archive in a constant state of expansion. New photographic editions are added every day, from both established artists and up and coming figures in the world of photography.
PHOTOICON Magazine is proud to present the best in nude photography currently housed by the Polaroid Collections. We’d like to extend a very special thanks to Barbara Hitchcock, Polaroid’s director of Cultural Affairs for making this showcase possible.
Andrew Kaiser has been a fine art photographer for over nine years. Currently residing in the California Bay Area, Andrew recently graduated with a fine art degree in the History of Art and Visual Culture through the University of California in Santa Cruz.
