Gallery Archives
Pt/Pd and Pd Contact Prints
Each is personally contact-printed on hand-coated paper, prepared, signed and embossed by Dick Arentz. They produced in numbered editions from 2/50 to 45/50. Dick will continue to reprint these on order. The paper used is from the Crane’s Paper Co. legendary 1990 run of 20,000 sheets, under Dick’s specifications.
A variety of view cameras were used. At the beginning, Dick used the classic sizes of 4×5, 5×7 and 8×10 inches. From 1971 to 1983 Dick used the 5×7 and 8×10 cameras exclusively. The work with the 8×10 negative was important, as it laid the groundwork for Pt/Pd printing.
Banquet Cameras 1983-2004
Starting in 1983, Dick acquired the first of his historic Banquet Cameras. They had a long, rectangular format and were popular around the turn of the 20th Century for photographing large groups of people. At the time, lenses were not sharp enough to identify individuals if enlarged. Thus the prints were made by contact printing. Common sizes were 5×12,7×17, 8×20 and 12×20 inches. Dick started with a 12×20 inch Folmar Schwing, made about 1905. In 1991, he added a 7×17 inch Korona, of the same vintage. In 1998, in search of a more elongated format, Dick scribed an 8×20 inch rectangle on his 12×20 inch camera. A portion of that negative could be used to make a print.
Dick was asked many times about choosing subjects for the elongated rectangle. It does take some practice, but generally, Subtraction, rather than addition are practiced. In this way, the photograph becomes more selective, instead of the classic panorama format.The images reproduced in The Grand Tour, The British Isles, Platinum & Palladium Printing 1st ed and Platinum & Palladium Printing 2nd ed, are made from film negatives.
Brush Strokes: In the preparation of the platinum or palladium print, the material that falls outside the image boundaries is exposed to maximum UV light. This will appear as brush strokes. In the 12×20 inch prints, I choose to show them or mask them, depending on the image. In the smaller sizes, 5×7 to 7×17 inches, I mask them out. For the final presentation, it is customarily up to the curator or owner whether to mat them out or let them show.
Dick stopped making negatives from film in 2004, however, he will continue to print by order in the near future. Therefore, this body of work is considered to be Archive Prints.