Trash-o-type

alexhill · Aug 28, 2010

I can't imagine that I'm the first person to be collecting what I've been calling 'Trash-o-types', but I haven't see any references to them on web so I wrote up the creation of one on my blog, but its copypasta below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45618841@N03/4935677958/

The above image is what I've been calling a trash-o-type. It is made (or should I say discovered?) when a piece of photosensitive paper is discarded. As the paper sits in the trash it will come into contract with photochemistry residue from all sorts of darkroom related trash. It is 'finished' by a prewash, a fixer bath, then a final wash.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45618841@N03/4935086505/

*The story behind the creation of a trash-o-type*

I'm in my darkroom and I will be trying my best to make a beautiful print and I am only succeeding in frustering myself with the results. I toss an early screw up into the trash (I dodge the wrong corner, with the wrong filter, for the wrong time. Gah!). I continue to print and forget about the discarded paper. The bit of paper gets dripped on from various darkroom related trash and exposed to whitelight.

Days later I am taking out the trash and I see a record of my darkroom work. It wasn't intentional, but is beautiful- and chaotic. I take it out of the trash and wash it in water for a few minutes, then fix and follow with a final wash.

The print looks strange in the final wash with the rest of my prints. But once all the prints are hung on the line; it is the trash-o-type that stands out.

I never actively try to make a trash-o-type, but if I notice paper in the trash starting to 'mature' then I might make a mental note to check it later... and perhaps abstain from emptying the trash for a few days.

I think it would be counter to the nature of the trash-o-type to try and actively produce them. To me they are beautiful manifestations of chaos and chance, and a fantastic pick-me-up to discover after a unlucky day of printing. The fact that they are produced during the failures of other prints makes them all most take on the missing qualities of the discarded prints.

And being a one of a kind in the age of mechanical reproduction is icing on the conceptual cake.

2F/2F · Aug 28, 2010

Those look neat.

I used to keep them. Then I realized that that last thing I need is more crap floating around my darkroom, so I stopped. Every now and then, a nice one will catch my eye, though.

Photo Engineer · Aug 28, 2010

OMG, I'm upset by the thought of all of the masterpieces that I have unwittingly thrown away all these years!

PE

fotch · Aug 28, 2010

Congratulations alexhill, you may be the first to admit it.

ann · Aug 28, 2010

similar idea as with 'chemical painting'

alexhill · Aug 28, 2010

needless to say they look much better in person. (I didn't set up my lights and polarizers to photograph them)

2F/2F, I totally understand the clutter problem. I say to myself, how much space does an 8x10 take up? Next thing I know I've got a couple thousand prints chilling in boxes filling up my shelves. I know a lot of people who keep test strips though... So thank goodness I'm not that bad

An Le-qun · Aug 31, 2010

I had been casting about for a good term for this process, if "process" is the word for it. I am hereby officially (?) adopting yours!

bobwysiwyg · Aug 31, 2010

One more aspect of analogue that the digi folks are missing out on.

sly · Sep 9, 2010

more trash

I knew I had these somewhere, but it took time to ferret them out. I had posted them to the gallery a couple of years ago. I called them "Found Art", but I really like the "Trash-o-type" label

holmburgers · Sep 9, 2010

Wow, both alexhill's and sly's are quite beautiful!

I'm a fan.

InkyAlchemy · Sep 9, 2010

As someone who is also a mixed media artist, this has "collage material" written all over it! I need to find me some!

alexhill · Sep 10, 2010

InkyAlchemy said:
As someone who is also a mixed media artist, this has "collage material" written all over it! I need to find me some!

InkyAlchemy Do you have any examples of your work you could PM me? Perhaps I could be persuaded to mail you some. I'll be setting up a darkroom shortly at my new place so I should be discovering some soon enough.

sly I am SO jealous of those. They are absolutely beautiful! What process are those from?

removed account4 · Sep 10, 2010

nice work alex and sly !

bblhed · Sep 10, 2010

Those are really cool, thanks for sharing.

sly · Sep 10, 2010

sly I am SO jealous of those. They are absolutely beautiful! What process are those from?[/QUOTE]

Just straight forward silver printing. They're test strips that never went in the developer (can't remember why.... possibly I cut up paper for test strips and some never made it to the paper safe.... were discovered on the table the next time I had the lights on). The paper is probably Ilford MGWT. They weren't fixed either, and have faded since they were scanned to share here.

mike c · Sep 10, 2010

If you did fix them they would lose those pinks and blues,to bad.My be ever changing Trash-o-type.

alexhill · Sep 10, 2010

I'm stunned at the color they produced, Mine usually get the normal faint pink then eventually turn brown. In my experience, fixing them will cause the colors to remain permanent. (Now this is off of remembering what they looked like, and only over a period of 3 years)

mike c · Sep 11, 2010

The fixer will wash out all UNDEVELOPED halide silver leaving a blank paper with some stain.

alexhill · Sep 11, 2010

mike c said:
The fixer will wash out all UNDEVELOPED halide silver leaving a blank paper with some stain.

True story, but trashotype as I described it probably came in contact with various darkroom chemicals including developers. I see no change during the fixing of the paper. In fact, I usually am fixing under white light because I discover the paper while I'm cleaning up and toss the print into the fixer before I dispose of it.

mike c · Sep 11, 2010

Well I stand corrected then,there are a lot of chems that can devel. paper ,toners and such.Don't knock it before you try it I suppose.

chriscrawfordphoto · Sep 12, 2010

When I was in art school in the late 90's we did these on purpose. The professor called them Chemical Stains.

Trash-o-type

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