Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message -----
From: "gaberegalbuto" <gaberegalbuto@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 11:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Preservation of Inkjet Hardcopies


> "Martin Wesley" <mwesley250@e...> wrote:
> >While we need to be informed about conservation
> > and longevity, I really have to question to what degree we should let
this> rule our art. If we feel one set of materials is better artistically,
even> though it may not be the best for longevity, maybe we should follow
the art.
>
> There's a guy out here in Encinitas, CA who makes some beautiful art in
the sand at low tide and watches it wash away.  Much like the monks in the
Himalaya with their mandalas.
>
> Art for art! Not for the eons!
>
> That said, orange prints suck and I am definately counting on the pigments
;)
>
Gabriel,

Well if you look at art permanence, you have on one end live impromptu
performance art such as jazz that exists only for the moment and on the
other Mt. Rushmore that will be around awhile but still not forever. Then
there are lots of things in between and other stuff off to the side,
intellectual art such as the literature and written music that can be
endlessly recopied without loss.

We probably all need to think about where we want to work on that sliding
scale of permanence. Like you I am counting on the pigments. I would like
all the effort and time I am expending to hang around for awhile, but I
don't want to get more wrapped up in how long it will last than how good it
looks. It's a balancing act and I really don't have a good feel for how
long, "long enough" is for myself. I hope it lasts my lifetime but if it
ages I don't know that I will be crushed either.

Perhaps a reasonable approach is to work with the materials we have today
and do the best we can. As new an better materials come along in a year or
two, reprint some of our better work with the new materials and then a few
years later when there are more improvements do it again. Hey maybe in ten
years there will be desktop lightjet digital enlargers and you will be
looking for that odorless stop bath again.<G>

Martin Wesley