Maplethorpe portrait of Doris Saatchie

[Dave Wooten]

...any insight on the technique used to make this portrait? Filter, lens, film? Thanks

[Old-N-Feeble]

If I were to guess I'd say he used a black stocking over the enlarging lens and printed high-key.

[Mark Sawyer]

If I were to guess I'd say he used a black stocking over the enlarging lens and printed high-key.

Sounds reasonable to me. The diffusion was definitely done during enlarging, as it's the blacks that diffused, not the highlights.

[Bill_1856]

...any insight on the technique used to make this portrait? Filter, lens, film? Thanks

Where' the d**n link, if you're going to ask a question about an image?

[Old-N-Feeble]

Where' the d**n link, if you're going to ask a question about an image?

Here's one LINK (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mapplethorpe-doris-saatchi-ar00155)

[Dave Wooten]

thanks, have trouble getting links up;[ from what i have read he didnt do his own printing. i understand the hose softening technique, it seems the image was filtered on camera lens, red?

[Old-N-Feeble]

thanks, have trouble getting links up;[ from what i have read he didnt do his own printing. i understand the hose softening technique, it seems the image was filtered on camera lens, red?

Judging by tonal values, yes, he may have used a red filter during exposure... or he may have used a red-sensitive film. But, as Mark pointed out, the bleeding of light due to diffusion was done during printing, not during exposure, and this could have been accomplished any one of a hundred different ways. The bottom line is the prints were diffused during printing and they were printed high-key... but, yeah, a red filter may have been used during exposure too.

[Dave Wooten]

thanks , havent been able to find the RM daybooks:)

[Tracy Storer]

Yes, diffusion during printing. Well known. Edward (Maxey) Mappelthorpe, his brother(and a fine artist in his own right), did his printing, if I remember correctly.

[Taija71A]

I was always under the impression... That Tom Baril (An outstanding Photographer) -- Did the 'majority' of the Printing for Mapplethorpe. No doubt, there were also others...

-Tim.
_________

[EdSawyer]

Baril is what I remember, yes.

[Dave Wooten]

...maybe Patti Smith would know...

[Paul Cunningham]

It has a bit of an infrared look to it.

[Darin Boville]

I believe others are correct in that if was Tom Baril, who printed Mapplethorpe's works who did the diffusion, probably with pantyhose material.

--Darin

[Lou Baleur]

My eyes must be going. I don't see any diffusion at all, blacks or whites. It looks sharp to me. Can someone point out a feature which shows the diffusion of blacks to help me see what everybody else sees?

[Dave Wooten]

Lou, you are seeing what i felt i saw. loks infared or strongly filtered.

[Old-N-Feeble]

My eyes must be going. I don't see any diffusion at all, blacks or whites. It looks sharp to me. Can someone point out a feature which shows the diffusion of blacks to help me see what everybody else sees?

The dark areas are bleeding into the white areas.

[Old-N-Feeble]

Lou, you are seeing what i felt i saw. loks infared or strongly filtered.

It's definitely not IR but perhaps a deep red filter was used. The diffusion was definitely done during the enlarging process.

[Darin Boville]

They (Robert and Tom) used the diffusion technique *a lot*...I thought it looked gross on most of it. The addition of the high key whites helps a little...

--Darin

[Ari]

They (Robert and Tom) used the diffusion technique *a lot*...I thought it looked gross on most of it. The addition of the high key whites helps a little...

--Darin

Hey, it was the 80s.

[EdSawyer]

I thought infrared also. It could be, in medium or large format...