THE GOLDEN SHIT SHOVEL

 So on we go with those precious items that mean so much to us, the next is the "Golden Shit Shovel".

It is in fact my second attempt in a couple of days to make this job of work and you can see below in the image on the left that it can be clearly seen how the emulsion, the magic juice of the polaroid has solidified and refused to be squeezed out over the film to process the negative.

This sheet was left out of the fridge for over a month and now I have a better idea of its shelf life once un-thawed (two weeks max).  It is so important that we know the properties of the materials we use and how they react when they hit the air, or indeed react with other substances they come into contact with.

Anyhow, this  small utility shovel used for cleaning ashes from the grate which a few years ago came into its own as an integral part of an art project that went astray. 

Allow me to explain.

I previously tried to tell this tale and had prepared this much of the text back in 2017 which gets the story to a particular point.

This  seasonal anecdote has at its heart the same message as an earlier post on the lilliputian entitled birdstrike

A couple of weeks ago whilst walking into town I happened to pass Bolton Street College and The Chocolate Factory  on my way to power up an Exhibition in the NPA. Something caught my eye as I passed the slightly recessed joint between the Bolton Street building and the tall and elegant industrial facade of the Williams and Wood building, now home to the Chocolate Factory - an arts and Industry building -  the former site of the Irish Toblerone franchise and former home of  Silvermints (an Irish classic).
 Any how I noticed that some unfortunate had found them self in this semi-recessed place caught short with no access to a toilet and poo-ed on the street! Fairly normal thing you might assume.  I being doomed to make this observation was also doomed to pass this space every day for the next two weeks and on each occasion I had to note that this turd was not being removed.

I wondered who was responsible for this liminal space, this no mans land between  public street, educational institution and artistic entrepreneurial space where this rock now resided and was settling  in.

I looked and thought deeply. It was to the right of the Chocolate factory but a few inches directly outside the DIT College, but sitting back off the footpath, the domain of the City Council.

 

so to continue....

Looking at this everyday and seeing that it was only some 20 metres from two Dublin City  Council bins that flanked the entrance to Bolton Street College and also noting that the street was regularly swept, I was bewildered. I though and I thought, how could I express my disbelief in my cities ability to perform a simple clean-up. 

I had the following Idea, I could put the shit in the bin, but before I did I could paint it Gold, photograph it and create a  GOLDEN TURD  award and present it to the cleansing departments local office responsible for this spot. Then the award could become an annual event, where some incompetent official is awarded this stinker every year.

Given that this is a negative kind of award, we should really concentrate on the upside/not the downside and considering the logistical difficulties and the possibilities of infection in the field you would think that my mind would be the terminal point of this pre-occupation.

But after locating the  above shovel in my back garden, purchasing a can of gold spray in Evans Art Shop and securing a set of conservation grade surgical type gloves, I made my plan.

So late one January night 2017 I set out with my Hasselblad H3D 50, 80mm lens, flash, gold paint, gloves and Shovel!!

I have to admit I felt rather nervous as I approached the field of play, paranoid you might say. I felt as if I was being followed, being watched, surveilled by some dark dank force.

I approached the stool and took out my spray can and started to spray giving it a good solid coat.

I fired up my camera and flash and started to shoot, I was feeling the world closing down on me and even as there was no one around could feel my presence being observed by some horrible and remote person who was judging me and my actions, so i moved quickly.  Shot, got the shove picked up the Poo and moved the few metres to the council bin, dropped it in and put the now contaminated shovel in a plastic bag.

I was shocked when i got home to find that the paint had not cured on the poo and only the ground had got a good coat of golden paint and this put a stop to my overzealous plans to bring the powers that be too boot.

So I reverted to my previous good news only position, but swore I would learn a little more about the substances i was dealing with and how they wold react with the air and other materials they came into contact with.....

And of course we must also remember that no experience is lost on us and every little event is a means to incrementally advance our knowledge!

 

In some ways it was great already!

 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. As long as it does not negatively impact 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.

Back on the block at davidmonahan.eu

  

There is no doubt about it, the world twists, it turns, things mutate, todays critical discourses are not the exchanges we were having six months ago. There is no doubt that from month  to month society is consumed by one subject or another and when the dust settles it always appears that most of the time spent paying attention to an unfolding narrative, was wasted time. Remember the Millenium Bug, or perhaps Brexit. They held our thoughts and were a major item of public discourse for years but now the story of Brexit seems to be disappearing from the everyday news as fast as that Bug story did at 12:01 on  January 1st  2000. 

There is a lot wrong with our world and a lot of it centres around divisions and polarities within peoples. Without getting into the whys and wherefores  of political and economic systems, we must look to ourselves to create a small world around our own personal contacts. We should do this with a humanity that exudes love, kindness, equality, all the time remaining curious about what we can do to build  better relationships with the world around us. Don't leave it up to the political classes, craft your own special relationships with all of those you come into contact with. Remain open to learn from others and give freely through positive actions.

One step on my continuing creative trajectory towards this goal is the creation of a new personal website at davidmonahan.eu

Above is the first photograph you will encounter on this new site.

It may take a few weeks for the data on this new site to overwrite the old data on the original David Monahan site but all should be good in a few weeks. And so 

I start to build and I hope the site will change frequently to mirror my own personal growth as I share our now smaller world..... its almost lilliputian!

  

ON REWARD 1-TYPE 55

There is no doubt about it less and less photographic work today is being carried out on traditional film stock.Pretty soon it will be impossible to find someone working on large format film unless you are pretty dedicated and detective like in the way you pursue a portrait photographer.
Right now I think it would be pretty impossible to find anybody shooting on type 55 polaroid film without a really long search!And when you did make that find the cost would be very high to you.
The reason for this is that type 55 film was discontinued in 2008.
Enough stock was manufactured to satisfy projected demand for 2009 but it sold out pretty quick and was snapped up by entusiastic photographers and ebay entrepreneurs.
I have had a pretty large stock of this precious film on ice since then and I have used it sparingly.
A recent show in Dublin last February rekindled my interest in shooting on this film ,particularly as a portrait medium.
The above shot of fellow photographer Rory O Neill is a recent portrait of mine shot on a linhoff technica 4x5 camera.
Type 55 negatives are the famous source of the "Polaroid frame look". Due to the development process where a Polaroid 545 film back holds the film for exposure with a large format camera, the Polaroid reagent/gel is squeezed between the negative and positive. Some of the reagent is trapped underneath the onion-skin-like frame that crops the print into a perfect 4x5 image. This reagent however creates an impression of that frame on the negative, which is not protected. The result is a perfect negative, but with imperfect frame-like image surrounded 3 of the four sides, while the 4th side shows the impression of the connective mesh that controls aspects of the Polaroid packet's sleeve functionality.In other words each frame shot on type 55 has a unique border caused by the rollers.This negative can then be used to achieve very high quality prints.

As a reward on my current Fundit campaign for the upcoming leaving Dublin show I am offering a unique experience for those of you willing to fund  to the tune of €150+.
Its a portrait sitting with me,shot on this rare and priceless material.
The reward includes a print of same,signed and dated,a limited edition postcard,and a thank you at the venue!
Rewards far beyond the value of the pledge.
GO FOR IT!!
here is a direct link
keep an eye out for further information on the other rewards and postings on the fundit site.
There are also lesser and one greater rewards available for pledges from twenty euro.
big thanks
David
as always

STILL PRINTING

You may remember in a previous post I alluded to the fact that I was a very capable printer of all photographic and high end artistic projects. Recently I have been involved in 2 projects which have and will be the subject of much media coverage. So, I just wanted to get this off my chest and state it for the record that I did all of the printing for the current show in the National Photographic Archive in Meeting House Square Dublin and about 40 prints for the 20th anniversary show in IMMA also in Dublin

The show in the National Photo Archive is called Power and Privilege and documents the central position held by the big house in irish society from the early days of photography right up to the withdrawal of the British state from the 26 counties that now form the Republic of Ireland(1858-1922).
It is a fascinating collection of images and its power is greatly helped by the presentation.
During the preparation of the exhibition I worked very closely with the curatorial team in making key decisions about sizing, paper type and the means of production. Most of the work came straight from glass negatives and was processed by photographing the plate on a lightbox with the Amazing Hasselblad h3d 50 and the totally sharp Hasselblad H Series HC Macro 120mm f/4. The work was then optimised by pulling it through phocus (hasselblads capture software) then into photoshop for batch inversion from negative to positive, then into lightroom for fine tuning and on into silver fx pro for final adjustments and toning.

This all sounds fairly straight forward but there is one extra ingredient in the mix that some misguided individuals don't value too much these days! And that is the human touch of deep experience.You can't come to photo processing from a standing start and get it right just because you have the right gear, and the tools are only of real value to those who know and understand their true depth. I have worked with glass plates for some 14 years and I know what I am looking at and this has been a major contribution to the look and success of this show (but it is actually invisible and this is how it should be). If you want to see good reproductions from glass plates and small original prints this show is a must.

The Moderns is a huge undertaking by the Staff and Friends of IMMA at Kilmainham and draws from the core collections of IMMA but includes works from other collections like the National Museum, National Library and the Hugh Lane Gallery. Again I was delighted to be asked to shoot and print the works from the National Photographic Archive and some works from the archives of Dublin's various architectural practices. If you are considering hiring me to do your printing, the works in IMMA that I have printed are the following: Six photographs shot by Elinor Wiltshire, four by Fergus Bourke and five prints from the Roger Casement collection. Also in the design section I made some 25 prints from various architects back catalogue these include shots of RTE, Busaras, Ard Na Crusha. etc.


Bye the bye if you are into original vintage photographic prints there is a real treat for you in the Gallery of photography also on meeting house square.
The collectors Eye is an amazing exhibition which give great insight into one mans quest for the greatest
photographs of Irish interest and beyond.Sean Sexton(the collector in question) is a man with great passion for all the emotions a photograph can convey,I met him one night in the gallery a few nights before the opening,and I was blown away by his huge aura and enthusiasm for all things photographic.
It should be up for 3 more weeks or so,so don't miss it.

So to finish this post and get to the point,I am still trying to pull together a type 55 exhibition for next summer.See some of my here
I had a good response to an appeal for contributors but I am still waiting for work from all but one of those who showed an interest.
The Idea is to marry my skill in scanning and printing to put together a memorable show of the finest photographs in this medium,representing Ireland ,Europe and the U.S.A.All in homage to this fine and now,never to be revived films.Probably one of the best tools for expression in black and white photography
I am hoping this post will jog some memories or indeed catch some users of this film's attention and send them my way.
There is no structure or theme to this show save that of the beauty that exists within the frame of a sheet of type 55. If you feel you have some good examples of this please contact me at dmon@me.com
I really want to get this post to a maximum amount of Artists using this medium so PLEASE,PLEASE
use the SHARE BUTTONS below to share on facebook and to Tweet this post.
Thank you!
David

ARRIVED, SAFE & SOUND!

Made it to France early yesterday morning on a glorius day after a beautiful crossing from cork on the Pont Aven.
All was fine when we made it to our destination, a tiny cottage in the middle of farmland just outside the village of Ploeuc sur Lie.
As stated in my last post I am hoping to Shoot some type 55 film whilst I am here.
I travelled light and just brought the linhof technika and standard 150mm lens,polaroid back,and a bucket for holding wet negs.
As an aid to composition,and as a tool in its own right,
I brought my H3d50 hasselblad,with waist level finder and sekonic meter.( I thought it might be interesting to compose and shoot the old fashioned way to see what i got.)
So yesterday Afternoon after a morning nap(disembarked boat at 5A.M.)I took the camera for a stroll and came back with the picture you see above.It says a lot about how I feel right now,full of hope and expectation for the weeks ahead!!
for some pics of the crossing click here i will add to this gallery as the weeks tick by.
as always click on the image above for a full size view

MORE FILM TALK!!

As discussed on an earlier postingI would like to, put together a group show of type 55 work.
So far i have put together 5 exposures all taken around the village of Ploeuc sur Lie in bretagne france.I hope to expand this to a series of 10 images as I will spend 5 weeks there between this and the end of august.
With this in mind I am now throwing my gaze outward to the world to see who would like to join me in putting an exhibition of type 55's together!!
The Idea would be to send some rough scans for consideration/evaluation,then if chosen the neg could be forwarded to me here in dublin for high res scanning and printing.
I would hope then to put together a small brochure (blurb softback)and try to secure a venue here in dublin for november or early december.
International participants could also try to get a venue to travel the resultant show in their own country
What do you think!!
There is no set brief for this expo project save that of the beauty of the object photographed,and of the photograph.
Above is shot of Ian which i photographed for a a cd case see his work here
for another view of my set so far click here
To join in this project just use the comments page,
please use the comments page to express interest in general in posting here at the lilliputian

FILM JOY!!

a lot of my ramblings to date have been concerned with things Digital. But hey!! there is a far more sinister side to photography once controlled by people who conveniently located themselves in dark basements, and huddled over huge deep tanks of Dev and fixer etc. Oh yes the world of film.

I have avoided talking about this until I had a few credible articles under my belt as I did not want to be misunderstood. you see, I like both film and digital.

They are both very credible media but digital being now the more accessible, complete with instant feedback, has become the medium of the dabbler. Artists, architects, designers, and other creative professionals also use digital photography to document their work whilst the use of film and paper seems to be becoming a minority sport

it is my opinion,( being someone working in both mediums)in some ways that there is less to film photography than digital.

you get what you shoot,right there, shure you got to get it right first time,but that comes with practise,you can get use to that after a few years!!

anyhow! On with the show! Film! I love it.

so I have included in this gallery images shot and Polaroid type 55 film.

( my favourite black-and-white film of all time) it is my intention to continue this work into the future and may invite other practitioners of this medium to join me in an exhibition of type 55

images later in the year.

click the title above for the gallery of 5 images

for info on type 55 film click here

or see the previous article "photographing your breakfast is not a sign of mental illness"

thanks to those who have commented on previous posts please continue this practise

as it is a great help to me!!