Experiments with Lumen Printing, a 3 - part indepth workshop series with artist Rachelle Bussieres.
In this online course, participants will explore various techniques of the lumen print process.
Lumen prints are silver gelatin papers exposed to light and put directly into photographic fixer. Ethereal pastel tones are created by the time of exposure, the type of light, and the kind of paper used in the process. Participants will experiment with different techniques to better understand the factors that influence the colors of the silver gelatin paper, such as lumen print collages, cameraless prints, and digital negatives.
In addition to studio time, participants will receive weekly readings that will be discussed at the beginning of each class. All reading are provided as PDFs. The readings will be sent prior to each session. Participants are asked to present work at the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd session. Therefore, a scanner or any other from of sharing work is recommended.
£150 ticket cost covers all 3 sessions. (£50 per session, plus eventbrite fees)
Session 1 = 03 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM GMT
Session 2 = 10 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM GMT
Session 3 = 17 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM GMT
Materials
- Two trays: a pre-mixed solution of photo fixer (Rachelle recommends Ilford Rapid Fixer) and a tray of plain water for washing.
- Black and white fiber-based photography paper (Rachelle recommends 11x14 inches Ilford multigrade fiber paper (+ optional warm tones photo paper))
- Natural and artificial light
- Contact printing frames (Could easily be built with a plexi-glass board and clippers)
- Drying rack
- Hot press (*optional)
- Photogram materials: cut-outs, your own fingers/hands/feet, organic materials such as flowers and plants, cut-outs, etc.
- Digital negatives - should be ready and printed on pictorico prior to the workshop
Safety
- Gloves
- Apron
Rachelle Bussières (Quebec City, Canada) received her MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2015. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Addressing the impact of light on our psyche, environment and social structure, Rachelle Bussières’ work is at the intersection of photography and sculpture, moving through a collision of materials and documents through the lumen photographic process. Bussières is the recipient of the Penumbra Workspace Award from Penumbra Foundation and the Award for Excellence from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. She has had recent solo exhibitions at Penumbra Foundation (NYC, USA), Johansson Projects (Oakland, USA) and Robert Koch Gallery (San Francisco, USA). Some recent group shows include Seattle Pacific University (Seattle, WA), Tiger Strikes Asteroid (Brooklyn), Soil Gallery (Seattle, WA), the General French Consulate (San Francisco, CA), the Wing (San Francisco, CA), the Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins, CO), Minnesota Street Project (San Francisco, CA), Galerie l’Inlassable (Paris, FR), Headlands Center for the Arts (Sausalito, CA) and Present Company (Brooklyn, NY). She was awarded residencies at Penumbra Foundation, Banff Centre, Minnesota Street Project and Headlands Center for the Arts. Her work is present in various public, corporate and private collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, SFMOMA Library and Archives, Facebook (commission mural) in Sunnyvale, Instagram Inc. in San Francisco and Penumbra Foundation in New York City. She is part of the first cohort in the new residency program at the World Trade Center, the Silver Art Projects and preparing a solo exhibition at Melanie Flood Projects (Portland, OR) in the Spring 2021.
SCHEDULE
03 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM UK BST
Session 1: ABSTRACTION IN PHOTOGRAPHY. THE LEGACY FOR LUMEN PRINT ARTISTS
Artists: Rachelle Bussières, John Steck Jr., Robert Canali, Amanda March and Laurie Kang
Studio: Demonstration. Steps-by-steps; how to achieve colors.
Readings (sent prior to each session): Eliasson, Olafur: “Some Ideas about Colour.” In Olafur Eliasson: Your Colour Memory. Edited by Ismail Soyugenc and Richard Torchia. Exhibition catalogue. Glenside: Arcadia University Art Gallery, 2006: 75-83.
10 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM UK BST
Session 2: FIGURATION WITH LUMENS; THE DIGITAL NEGATIVE
Artists: Chris McCaw, James Welling, Marco Breuer, Michael Flomen, Penelope Umbrico, Roge Newton, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Uta Barth
Studio : Figuration. Contact printing with a digital negative.
Readings (sent prior to each session): Rexer, Lyle. “Chapter 4” in T he Edge of Vision. The Rise of Abstraction in Photography. Aperture Foundation. 2013. New York.
17 September 2023 1.30PM - 4.30PM UK BST
Session 3: LIGHT AND SHADOWS
Artists: Anna Atkins, Aspen Mays, Klea McKenna, Meghann Riepenhoff, John Opera and Mariah Robertson
Studio: Compositions with light and shadows; the 3D object.
Readings (sent prior to each session): Chapter 4 in Argyronomicon by Mike Ware