28 minutes exp
January 3rd 2015
Paper: Fabriano Ruvido
Austin - TX (USA) - Texas State Capitol - Internal Stairs
This cyanotype does not belong to a larger series; it exists purely as an exploration of medium.
The original photograph, with its sharp lines and crystalline detail—the stucco’s texture, the flash of an orange-clad visitor—offers an almost overwhelming clarity. Yet, in its precision lies a certain predictability, a completeness that leaves little room for the imagination to wander.
The cyanotype, by contrast, embraces imperfection and loss. In surrendering detail and sharpness, it retrieves something else: an enigmatic presence. The softened edges and tonal depth invite prolonged looking, a slow unraveling of form and meaning. Is this composition inverted? Is that an Ionic capital emerging from the Prussian blue? The image resists immediate resolution, and in doing so, it becomes a site of curiosity—a visual space where ambiguity transforms into intrigue.
Here, the medium isn’t merely a surface; it’s a collaborator. The cyanotype does not simply reproduce—it interprets, reminding us that sometimes clarity must be sacrificed for resonance.
