| Newsletter for Collectors - Vol 10.6 | June 30, 2016 | | | Home • What‘s New • Photographers • Online Exhibitions
Contents • Alphabetical • Styles and movements • Articles
Visual Indexes • Galleries & Dealers • Timelines • Techniques
Library • Contact us Welcome to another Luminous-Lint Newsletter.
Henry M. Buhl collected wisely by specialising in photographs of the hand to provide a striking history that captured the variety of the everyday in unexpected ways - a digital delight.
He started collecting hands on October 6, 1993: yes a precise date. On that day he purchased a gelatin silver print of Alfred Stieglitz’s close-up of O’Keeffe sewing, titled "Georgia O’Keeffe—Hands with Thimble. Shot from above" for $75,000. He went on to amass a collection of around 1,100 photographs of hands and gestures. Within the collection works by Man Ray, Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, Robert Frank, Jeff Wall and many others were included. As Buhl said:
“Our object was to do the history of photography through the subject of hands,”
You can read more about this in the article Henry Buhl’s Hands-On Approach to Collecting Photographs.
Henry Buhl & Thomas Krens, 2004, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from the Buhl Collection, (Guggenheim Museum)
In 2004 the collection was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in "Speaking with Hands: Photographs from the Buhl Collection."
From 12-13 December 2012 the collection was auctioned at Sotheby‘s for $12.3M which at the time was the highest total for an auction price realized for a collection of photographs from a private collector.
The shattered hand
The auction dispersed the collection and it is unlikely that it will ever be brought together again. The book published by the Guggenheim accompanying the exhibition and the Sotheby‘s sale catalogue are all that remains. Henry Buhl had created / curated a single theme and then it was scattered into public and private collections.
The result is a fragmentation of the images and the loss of the coherence he had constructed over 20 years.
With Luminous-Lint portraits of the Hand are a Theme and as such the visual indexes and online exhibitions improve continually. For many themes the PhotoHistory Visualizer (PhV), provided for subscribers on Luminous-Lint, brings together images that match, or exceed, those in real world exhibitions.
This portion of the far larger Visual Index on Hands on Luminous-Lint gives a sense of the diversity of images available.
Luminous-Lint: Visual Index "Hands" (June 2016)
Each image has full caption information which is essential for research and any search using Google will reveal that most images are lacking ownership, copyright and contextual details. The illustration below is a little small but you will get the idea.
Luminous-Lint: Checklist "Hands" (June 2016)
As with the wall panels in a real world exhibition the Hand Theme is divided into smaller fragments for discussion.
Thoughts on hands and themes
The bringing together of content from thousands of collections and the fact that Luminous-Lint improves each day provides groupings of images, along with their contextualization, that is an essential aid to curators and photo-aficionados.
In an earlier Luminous-Lint Newsletter (Vol. 10.3, April 5, 2016) the benefits of Wall Panels were outlined for educational use and for institutions seeking to provide additional visual material to support exhibitions and this is continuing. New ways of navigating through thousands of Wall Panels will be announced shortly.
The overall framework of Luminous-Lint has proved to be quite malleable over the years and the bringing together of the diverse Themes is going well.
Researchers and students - Do you need to subscribe? |
If you research, or study, at an educational institution please check if your organisation has a subscription so you can gain access to the premium content on Luminous-Lint. Talk to your course supervisor or the librarian at your institution to see if Luminous-Lint is available.
Individual subscriptions are also available.
Subscriptions are available to access the over 1,000 Themes on Luminous-Lint, powerful Visual Indexes, tools to contextualize single images and some of the more detailed parts of the website. Luminous-Lint is an evolving resource where all parts are enhanced and added to every day.
Details about subscriptions
Thanks to all those subscribing to, and supporting, Luminous-Lint as it continues to improve.
Wet Plate Collodion and Salt Print Workshop in Italy (September 2016) |
ICA Wet Plate Collodion and Salt Print Workshop
in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy
10-25th September 2016
Luther Gerlach, one of the foremost artists working in historical processes today, will be leading a wet plate and salt print workshop in Italy this September 10th to 25th. Honored guest lecturers include Weston Naef, curator emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Michael G Wilson, historical photographic collector, and Alan Griffiths, lecturer and founder of luminous-lint.com.
This workshop is intended for participants with a wide range of experience and interests. Beginning and experienced wet plate photographers, curators and photo historians will all find this workshop enlightening and beneficial.
The ancient hill-top village of Monte Castello di Vibio is the setting for this immersive program. Students will enjoy private accommodation in a twelfth century stone convent with spectacular views of the Tiber Valley. Three home-cooked Umbrian meals per day are included - and no doubt there will be local wines as well...
Luther Gerlach: Workshop details
International Center for the Arts, Monte Castello di Vibio
Open discussions and shared ideas |
The first week, participants will work directly with Gerlach's collection of historical cameras and lenses as they create their own wet plate collodion positives and negatives. The second week will focus on printing the negatives. Participants will be immersed in a learning environment designed to give you the confidence to continue working and developing skills on your own.
The practical sessions will also have presentations and discussions with guest lecturers.
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Luther Gerlach
One of the foremost artists working in historical processes and educator at the J. Paul Getty Museum |
Weston Naef
Curator emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Museum and founding curator of the Photography Department |
Michael G. Wilson
Collector of historical photography and supporter of photohistory |
Alan Griffiths
Founder of Luminous-Lint |
Graham Howe, of Curatorial Assistance, will be in attendence for part of the time and Alessandro Gibellini will be visiting making this a unique experience.
Personal note:
This is an opportunity to be in the glorious countryside of Umbria and Tuscany, visit Florence and the historical archives of Alinari, share food and wine in good company with fellow photohistorians and photoenthusiasts. Besides formal presentations there will be opportunities to discuss ideas surrounding early photography in a relaxed setting that is open to the practical aspects and to seek out trends to encourage your own work.
I‘m looking forward to meeting you in September
Alan
With thanks to Rafael Goldchain for the portrait of Alan Griffiths. |
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Charles Brooke (1804, 30 June - 1879, 17 May) was born. Surgeon and inventor who between 1846 and 1852 pioneered the use of photography for the automatic registration of instruments. He used rolls of photographic paper driven by clockwork mechanisms to self-record the variations of barometers, More...
Sean Scully (1945, 30 June - ) was born - Ireland, Dublin. Contemporary Irish abstract artist twice nominated for the Turner Prize.
Bob Willoughby (1927, 30 June - 2009, 18 December) was born - US, CA, Los Angeles.
Édouard Boubat (1923, 13 September - 1999, 30 June) died - France, Paris.
William Henry Jackson (1843, 4 April - 1942, 30 June) died - US, NY, New York. Jackson worked with the railway companies and survey groups moving out into the American West. His landscape photographs are some of the most important ever made and helped define the ‘West‘. |
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