Convinced that the Polaroid camera was an invention at the intersection of art and technology, in 1949, Polaroid founder Edwin Land invited Ansel Adams to be a brand consultant. Together they went on to found the Polaroid Artists Programme, in which they gifted iconic 24 x 20 inch Polaroid cameras to a group of artists including Andy Warhol, Guy Bourdin, David Hockney, Robert Rauschenberg and Dennis Hopper, under the agreement that they would donate their photographs back to the programme.
Everlasting Radio Wave-Test #5, 2008, Fujifilm FP-100C, by Chen Wei.
‘It was shrewd a move. Land hoped Adams would rope in other accomplished photographers,’ says William Ewing, the co-author of a new book – The Polaroid Project – which for the first time brings together a comprehensive review of the 20,000 strong collection. Featuring images largely unseen due to Polaroid’s post-bankruptcy fragmentation, the book launches alongside a touring exhibition of the same name, beginning at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Texas.
Considering these images collectively, it’s clear how important the candid nature of Polaroid was to the work of some of the 20th century’s best-known photographers, such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Gus Van Sant. Mapplethorpe’s Self Portrait With Dancer (1978) fits perfectly into the photographer's self-documenting body of work, while Guy Bourdin’s Charles Jourdan (1978), a three-part series of a woman walking down the street, is Bourdin at his provocative best.
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
Untitled, 1998, inkjet print from positive/negative film Type 665, by Timothy White.
Untitled (# 228), 2003, gelatin silver print from Polaroid Positive/Negative 4x5 film Type 55, by Toshio Shibata.
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
August 13, 1979, Polaroid SX-70 film, by André Kertész.
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
Grey Lion, Tokyo, Japan, 1983, Polaroid 20x24 Polacolor film, by Sandi Fellman.
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology
INFORMATION
The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology, £34.95, published by Thames and Hudson
-
Step inside this Upper East Side jewel box apartmentThis radiant Lexington Avenue home is a harbinger of good things for the Upper East Side, and the latest focus of The Inside Story, our series spotlighting intriguing and innovative interior design
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of natureWOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
-
Is a tiny tattoo the best holiday souvenir? Kimpton Hotels think soIn partnership with Tiny Zaps, Kimpton Hotels is bringing city-inspired tattoo pop-ups to five U.S. locations
-
Desert X 2025 review: a new American dream grows in the Coachella ValleyWill Jennings reports from the epic California art festival. Here are the highlights
-
Daniel Arsham’s new monograph collates the works of the auto-obsessed American artist‘Arsham Motorsport’ is two volumes of inspiration, process and work, charting artist Daniel Arsham’s oeuvre inspired by the icons and forms of the automotive industry
-
In ‘The Last Showgirl’, nostalgia is a drug like any otherGia Coppola takes us to Las Vegas after the party has ended in new film starring Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl
-
‘American Photography’: centuries-spanning show reveals timely truthsAt the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Europe’s first major survey of American photography reveals the contradictions and complexities that have long defined this world superpower
-
Era-defining photographer David Bailey guides us through the 1980s in a new tome not short of shoulder pads and lycraFrom Yves Saint Laurent to Princess Diana, London photographer David Bailey dives into his 1980s archive in a new book by Taschen
-
Inside Joan Didion’s unseen diary of personal relationships and post-therapy notesA newly discovered diary by Joan Didion is soon to be published. Titled 'Notes to John', the journal documents her relationship with her daughter, husband, alcoholism, and depression
-
Sundance Film Festival 2025: The films we can't wait to watchSundance Film Festival, which runs 23 January - 2 February, has long been considered a hub of cinematic innovation. These are the ones to watch from this year’s premieres
-
Carsten Höller’s new Book of Games: 336 playful pastimes for the bold and the boredArtist Carsten Höller invites readers to step out of their comfort zone with a series of subversive games
