(Above:
Kinsfolk I - VI. Individually framed: 25 1/2" x 21". Original, antique "charcoal" photographs surrounded by parts of an antique crazy quilt with embellishments and hand embroidery. Click on any image to enlarge.)
Lots of people have portraits of long gone relatives that appear to be very accurately drawn in charcoal. They are frequently in ornate Victorian (often 20" x 16") frames or under convex glass (often 20" x 14"). Guess what? That aren't original drawings; THEY ARE PHOTOGRAPHS! Sometimes this type of photographic image is called a "crayon portrait" and other times it is called a "charcoal portrait" because they were enhanced after being photographically printed. The first step was photographic in nature.
(Above: Kinsfolk I.)
These pictures were produced by a solar enlargement process in the late
19th and early 20th century. One needs to know a little bit about the
early days of photography to understand why these pictures became so
popular. Photography was largely experimental in the 18th century but
by the mid-19th century the process had evolved to the point where glass
negatives were placed in direct contact with chemically treated paper.
When exposed to light, an image was made.
(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk I.)
Yet, this meant that the images were only the size of the negative.
Sure ... some of the glass negatives were 4" x 6" to 8" x 10" but that's
a rather bulky and expensive way to get a bigger picture ... especially
if you wanted the picture to appear like a proper, aristocratic oil
portrait. Many people in the growing "middle class" wanted LARGE portraits but didn't have access or the means for expensive oil paintings. So, solar enlargers were then invented. It was a way to use
sunlight to project the smaller negative onto a larger piece of treated
paper.
(Above: Kinsfolk II.)
Of course, there were problems with this process. Flaws in the glass were also
enlarged. The edges became blurry (just like enlarging the small number
of pixels on a Facebook picture if attempting to print an 8" x 10"
picture!) Early on, the resulting image was also prone to fading.
Adding crayon, charcoal and pastels became the norm. This also made the images look more realistic, detailed, and closer to the look of an oil painting. Even as this
process improved during the early 20th century, retouching them was
popular. The retouching provided superior detail and color.
(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk II.)
Before the retouching, the photograph-on-paper was first mounted to a
support made of thicker paper board or even canvas. Between 1880 and
1930, it was popular for the images to be mounted to convex molded paper
boards. Over time, all these substrata became brittle and were prone
to cracking. Over time, families often forgot the names of their then
deceased relative and/or the images were damaged ... frequently with a
water stain, a missing corner, or a crack that impacted the sitter's
face.
(Above: Kinsfolk III.)
I've used several such "anonymous" portraits in my installation Anonymous Ancestors. Anonymous Ancestors
is currently at the Morris Center of Lowcountry Heritage in Ridgeland,
South Carolina until February 17th. I haven't secured another venue for
it. Plus, there's already over 300 framed pieces. (Click HERE for a
blog post showing how this installation looked while on view at City
Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston.) The truth is that I don't
need more pieces for Anonymous Ancestors but I couldn't resist these portraits. I knew I wanted to "do something" different ... but what?
(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk III.)
From the recesses of my brain, I remember the cover of Surface Design Association's Summer 2012 quarterly magazine. (Click HERE
to see it.) I don't really remember the article at all, just the idea
of stitching on old portraits. Of course, I didn't want to copy this
artist; I wanted to stitch "in my own, personal way" but didn't know
what that "way" even was until the first of these four portraits (the
black-and-white ones) were donated to my stash. All of a sudden, I
knew! I even had the crazy quilt to use! Then, I got one of the
colored portraits at Bill Mishoe's auction and a framing client donated
the other, colored lady!
(Above: Kinsfolk IV.)
Each of the portraits was fused to upholstery material in my dry mount
press. This was stapled to a stretcher bar. Next, I pinned a section
of the crazy quilt over the surface. Little by little, I cut from the
center to expose the head and part of the upper chest. A piece of soft
orange bridal tulle (fine netting) was then pinned over the entire
surface. This netting protects the fragile places in the crazy quilt
and gives the portraits a warm cast. I stitched flat, red African beads
cut from vintage vinyl records around the opening and then added plenty
of hand-stitching and embellishments. The original crazy quilt wasn't
particularly decorative. So, my stitching blends with the original and
integrates the netting into the surface. Finally, I pinned the pieces
to acid-free foam-centered board and put them into barnwood black
frames. I'm really please with this series and am now looking for a
couple more portraits because I still have enough of the crazy quilt to
do at least two more!
(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk IV.)
Further below are more images of these new pieces! Enjoy!
(Above: Kinsfolk V.)
(Above: Detail of Kinsfolk V.)
(Above: Kinsfolk VI.)
(Above: Detail of
Kinsfolk VI.)
