The Rainbow and the Photogram: Chromatic Explorations in Darkroom Photography
Research class by Francesco Del Conte
In contrast with today’s redundant and hectic digital culture, the research class will unfold the creative possibilities of an analog world on the edge of disappearing. After a dive into the fascinating field of color theory, we will explore the realm of colors within the photographic medium through a series of darkroom experiments. In the first workshop, we will discover the photogram and its chromatic potential. We will move within the limitations of this form of primordial photographic technique, challenging the artistic production only by using light, a variety of humble materials, and blank pieces of paper as primary ingredients. In the second workshop, we will have a more scientific approach: by exposing a group of different B/W films to the colors of a rainbow, obtained through a light source and a diffraction grating, we will verify how the hues are translated into different grayscales according to the film employed. What’s the creative potential of chemical photography today? And what’s the hidden impact technology has on reality representation?
Francesco Del Conte
Francesco Del Conte (1988, Milan) is a visual artist, photographer, and astrophile. He studied printmaking at the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts in Turin and photography at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Through his practice, Del Conte aims to create new insights about photography and the way we can relate to it. In the last few years, he has shaped an experimental approach to the medium, partly stimulated by his interest in employing large-format analog cameras. The use of this equipment led him to explore photography’s inner structure, breaking it down into its fundamental elements: electromagnetic energy and time. In his current projects, Del Conte considers the camera as a light recorder rather than a tool that allows the author to explore the concepts of narrative, space, and composition. This change of paradigm gave birth to a new body of work intertwined with other fields such as astronomy, mineralogy, and color science.
Francesco Del Conte is a researcher at the Academy.
francesco.delconte@ap.be
>> This research class is part of the Research Week during the annual research festival ARTICULATE.
