At the end of my time at Goucher College, I was working on color photograms. Inspired by the black and whites ones by Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, I used glass, light gels, and a prism to manipulate light from the darkroom enlargers to create forms, and experiment with what colors would be created when exposing through such materials.
Works by Pierre Cordier
Works by Adam Fuss
But there is so much more to explore! Beyond the darkroom, and the light from an enlarger, artists have been using nature, seeking outdoor settings and using naturally occurring sources to not only create arresting patterns, but to push the boundaries of what the "photograph" can mean.
This article from the Independent discusses artists like Garry Fabian Miller, Susan Derges, Pierre Cordier, and Floris Neusüss, who, "By removing the camera, [...]get closer to the source of what they are interested in: light, time, traces, signs and visions – things which have spiritual and metaphysical rather than simply physical qualities. Laying down the camera frees them from documentation to become, like alchemists, more focussed on transformation."
Works by Garry Fabian Miller
Even though they all deviate from the camera, these artists' motives, means, and approaches to their work could not be more disparate. Their work, and some of the thinking behind it, can be seen in these short but highly revealing videos at the V&A website:
>
Garry Fabian Miller
>
Floris Neusüss
>
Pierre Cordier
>
Adam Fuss
