Students in Risa Horowitz’s cyanotype photography course are displaying their artworks in two cabinets at the Dr. John Archer Library and Archives main floor computer commons. It is a living installation and will be added to and changed throughout the semester.
For the first installation, students used specimens from the George F. Ledingham Herbarium. With the facilitation of Associate Dean Dr. Mel Hart, of the Faculty of Science, students were able to peruse through and borrow specimens not yet formally accessioned. The Herbarium was established in 1945 and has tens of thousands of specimens from Saskatchewan and beyond. Dr. Hart also loaned students some marine invertebrate specimens, which are featured in some of the works on display.
The cyanotypes in this installation are almost all cameraless photographs. The chemistry is applied to paper with a brush, and once dried, specimens are placed in direct contact with the paper and exposed under ultraviolet light. Flat specimens can be held in close contact using glass, giving sharp edges to the images. Dimensional specimens can not be flattened with glass, and the light bounces around the objects giving less sharp edges that appear like shadows or movement.
Check out students’ individual blog posts to read more details about their specific works: https://throughblue2024.blogspot.com/
Featuring the works of: Elizabeth Dow, Florence Duesterbeck, James Hall, Nico Inocalla, Johnathan Jones, Rose Molina, Jayden Thompson, Rhylynn Wahl, Dr. Mel Hart and Professor Risa Horowitz. With special thanks to Dr. Hart, Michael Shires and Jason Cawood for their partnership and facilitation.
