Photograms show a tribute to photography pioneer

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): A dormant cultural "enclave" on Jl. Tanjung No. 34, Menteng Central Jakarta called Wisma Lingkar Budaya has been reactivated.

Led by Toeti Haeraty, a prominent intellectual, the center is now provided with a preview room for film/video programs and a gallery for photography or fine arts exhibition.

A unique photography called photogram is taking place at the gallery until today (Thursday).

Unlike the conventional photography, photogram does not use a camera to take pictures. The work is made by way of illuminating the object on the photo paper. The production process is similar to that of the silk-screening. The difference in the medium used.

The silk screening employs paint to form the images. In photogram, the images are formed by way of illuminating the objects Onto the photo paper and the illuminated part will be scolded black when it is developed using chemicals. What is left on the paper is the silhouette of the illuminated objects.

Depending on the light's penetrating power, the object on the paper will create different black and white images of different tones.

For photogram makers, creating photos without a camera is a great challenge. It will allow them to do experiments in the darkroom to create works worth exhibiting. They can create photograms that symbolize certain messages to express their ideas on social issues.

Among the greatest photograms on display are our works by Antonius Efendi. Every piece has different social messages. Titled Ya...Ya...Ya..., Meooooong, Dua Kubu (Two Camps) and Terkepung (Besieged), each sizing 50cm by 60cm, all the four use elements available in daily life: a shred of mosquito net, satay stick, condom, syringe and women's panties.

Efendi means to raise the issues of sex, drugs and the tug of war between the status quo and reformist forces.

While Nugraheni Pangestuti and Maya Sofia exert their painting ability to create visual elements and they printed the images on paper.

The works of Siti Wahyuni is rich in variety and well presented. She features gentle, soft and hard elements for her artworks. Her piece titled Tumbuh (Growing) and Kehidupan (Life) is presented with four uniquely arranged frames.

Most of the works of these students of photography is full of symbols, hints and icons.

All works on exhibit are all exclusive and original because they cannot be duplicated. This is the basic difference between photogram and the conventional photography, which uses negatives that allows unlimited reproduction.

Participants of the exhibition say that the event is in fact a tribute for W.H. Fox Talbot, the man who in 1839 introduced the first photo paper the Royal Society, London. Talbot called the paper "some account of the art of photogenic drawing". He meant that the painter no longer needed a pencil to draw the natural objects on the paper.

Talbot began his photography experiment by doing contact prints that produced copies of leaves, bird feather and laces on silver nitrate and chloride applied on a piece of paper. After Being illuminated, the paper was dipped into the solution of ammonia mixed with potassium iodide.

The spirit of the invention of the paper is worth remembering. It has greatly influenced graphic techniques in the course of the development of fine arts. Now, in the turn of the 21st century, the art has become classic and challenging for further exploration.

Photogram is a portrait of honesty. Compare with the modern photography, which intricately develops along with digital imaging technology. The advanced computer technology allows unlimited creation.

The artworks of the photography students are commendable as an effort to pay tribute to Talbot's invention.