A particular work of art that stood out to me was Blackwater made in 2010 by Sally Han because it deceives the human eye. The whole image is comprised of 6 squares of plexiglass that border each other in two rows of four and the processed used to create the image is called wet plate Collodion on plexiglass. This means that a mixture of iodide and cellulose nitrate is coated on plexiglass. The specific type of art however is called an ambrotype, and this is how the image deceives the human eye. Although the work of art is titled “Blackwater,” looking at it in the gallery one can see that the water is clearly not black. I was confused yet intrigued by this misnomer even after I learned that ambrotypes are known to appear as negatives when backed by light, however when backed by black they appear as positives. Thus if the images on the wall were backed by black, the water would indeed look black.
I was initially captured by the non-photographical qualities of the photo. At a glance the photo looked like a painting that resembled that of Southeastern calligraphy painting because of the focus on reflections and shadows. But after I looked at the image more closely, I realized it was a work of film. Not only did different exposures change the photographs and how faintly or clearly you could see the branch shadows, but it also made the photography more ominous. The already ominous content of the photographs was made more ominous, only enhancing the feel of the picture. But since many elements of the images are unidentifiable, its ambiguity also contributes to the dangerous feel of the images. The emotional impact is further enhanced by the artist’s flaws when developing the photographs. Only probably not incidental on Han’s part, one can clearly see the fixer stains, which adds to the calligraphic feel.
Compared to digital photographs, Blackwater is a one-of-a-kind work of art. It is nearly impossible to replicate film due to different developing process times and different mistakes that happen during developing; however, Han was able to use her flaws to her advantage, enhancing the feeling of the image as a whole.
