Description
The images on the opposite wall were made with a Polaroid 20x24 camera. This camera creates a 20 x 24 inch instant image. Like a standard size Polaroid, the film, developing chemicals, and printing paper are contained in a single unit. The image develops in about 60 seconds. There are only five of these cameras in the world; each weighs over 200 lbs.
Close first used one of these cameras in 1977. The five portraits on that wall were made in 1979 when Close had a second opportunity to work with one of the 20x24 cameras. He initially intended to the camera to make maquettes or images on which to base paintings. For that purpose, the camera appealed to him for several reasons: the depth of color and detail where superior to other process and the instant images allowed for a direct negotiation with subject, during which he and the sitter could select an image together. Work with the 20x24 is a slow process that involves making and image, looking at it, adjusting the camera and/or pose and then making another image. Elsewhere on the wall, you’ll see two of the “maquettes” that were overlaid with the grid Close used to transfer the image to a large canvas.
These initial sessions with the camera led to decades of work with large format Polaroids, including the largest Polaroid camera in the world, which creates prints over 8 feet high. You can see them in the main gallery.