As I move on through this Pecious Silver Process I am discovering the depth of meaning beyond the object that is captured within the image, I know this sounds a little hard to touch, but if I allow myself the space to explain this to myself, we may all be able to move forward from this point with a little insight.
So Let me explain, This work is made to examine optically, and on a precious material(type 55 Polaroid), objects that hold a particular value to me, (beyond a monetary value).
This particular piece, is for me the symbol of the darkroom, a fine piece of engineering, and a physical reminder of a very special time in my life when I discovered photography. When I was in the school darkroom processing film and the Gralab let out its piercing buzz, there was no doubt it was time for you to retrieve your film or at least move on to the next part of the process.
But this particular clock bought by me to replace a now defunct clock in another college darkroom where I now officiate, has proven to me to be a touchstone for a whole different set of experiences. It embodies for me my own experiences of the U.S.A. what it has become and how it may progress.
Firstly I bought the 1970's clock on a visit to the U.S.A. in 2014 in a shop which in 2020 was set on fire during the the 2020 Chicago riots,The Chicago Sun, reported , Chicago’s iconic Central Camera Company store was damaged in a fire amid wide-spread protests and property damage downtown Saturday over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
The clock was manufactured in the heartland of the American indusrial mid-west in Ohio and here in lies the knub of my clocks hidden story and it is this which fascinates me.
{The Dimco Gray Company of Ohio is located in one of the mid-west states , as one website put it, that was Once recognized as the industrial heartland, the region has experienced a
sharp downturn in industrial activity from the increased cost of
domestic labor, competition from overseas, technology advancements
replacing workers, and the capital intensive nature of manufacturing.
The fortunes of this industrial heartland of America shifted between the 1950s and 1970s when the region's dominant industries faced minimal competition. Powerful labor unions
in the automotive and steel manufacturing sectors ensured labor
competition stayed to a minimum. As a result, many of the established
companies had very little incentive to innovate or expand productivity.
This came back to haunt the region when the United States opened trade
overseas and shifted manufacturing production to the south.}
The Dimco Gray company managed to escape this downturn, and when faced with going out of business in the eighties a worker buyout saved and turned the fortunes of the company around in a few years.
This is not the story I am used to telling myself about America and American Manufacturing, My story is the one where rich investors trade in shares of all American companies - trying to squeeze out of them all of their worth, Not really caring where the product base originates does not negatively imapact the bottom line. The Shareholder profit motive facilitates a certain fluidity where large American corporations move their capital around the globalised world seeking profit, only to benefit these shareholders - not really caring what carnage is left in the wake of opening up manufacturing in ever cheaper, sometimes even unregulated production facilities - etc. etc etc. All the time driving the thin wedge of earnings upwards towards the one percent, as the only motive to succeed is to generate profits.
But it is not all black and white so to speak, in every situation there is nuance, subtle hues through the gray areas from the whitest whites to the darkest black, are in fact what reveal the true depth of a scene, and the Dimco Gray company exist in this space. Now that I know a little more about them I can clearly see how attached I have become to this item, especially as I can see that their focus is not to earn dollars for faceless shareholders. This solitary fact makes my feelings for this classic version of their Gralab timer, makes me glow more now more then ever. Especially when I hear the foghorn of its alarm buzzing through my head to tell me the the minutes have have elapsed on this over 50 year old piece of American Darkroom History!
That is the message I see deep in this photograph, and because I bought it at the Central Camera Company Which has since been burned down, I am reminded that the American society is now deeply troubled. I hope that in the years to come it can start to heal and what motivates American society in general can be a force like that of the Dimco Gray workers, who invested in themselves for the good of their community.
