Dust

00075328-2, LA Churches - First Christian Church 1961'2013gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept fromMet Lofts lobby and level 1 hallways58 x 43 3/5 inches — 00075328-2, LA Churches - First Christian Church 1961'
2013
gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept from
Met Lofts lobby and level 1 hallways
58 x 43 3/5 inches

Z-11 Omaha Grant Smelter 12018gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept fromDenver Coliseum’s rear loading dock42 x 60 inches — Z-11 Omaha Grant Smelter 1
2018
gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept from
Denver Coliseum’s rear loading dock
42 x 60 inches

SDS-042-2, Removing the Letter “S” from the Sign DuringDemolition of Schwab’s Drug Store 19832013gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept fromTrader Joe’s grocery store62 x 42 inches — SDS-042-2, Removing the Letter “S” from the Sign During
Demolition of Schwab’s Drug Store 1983
2013
gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept from
Trader Joe’s grocery store
62 x 42 inches

APF2-0956432013 - 2015gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept fromLake Meadows St. Basketball Court58 ¾ x 41 3/4 inches — APF2-095643
2013 - 2015
gum bichromate print on paper with dust swept from
Lake Meadows St. Basketball Court
58 ¾ x 41 3/4 inches

Brandt’s Dust prints compress time by reproducing historical photographs of demolished sites and buildings with physical elements from the present. The artist uses images of demolitions and historic New York City neighborhoods found in the New York Public Library archives to produce large-scale negatives. He then visits the location of the original building and collects dust from the structure now situated on the lot, which is used as pigment in a handmade gum-bichromate emulsion.

By mixing particulate matter from the site into an image via a process that is itself a relic, Brandt makes his work of art into an animated stand-in for that which has disappeared.

— MET Museum, 1691082u2 (Demolition off Madison Square Garden, 1925), 2014

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/669367

In his Dust series, Matthew Brandt reproduces historical photographs of no longer extant structures he found in libraries and archives. After making large film negatives of these photographs, he visits the locations depicted in the photographs and gathers dust in and around the current structure to use as pigment in his large gum bichromate prints.

Invented in the late nineteenth century, the gum bichromate process consists of an emulsion made of gum arabic, light sensitive ammonium dichromate, and watercolor pigment. The emulsion is applied to watercolor paper, allowed to dry, then sandwiched with a negative, and exposed to sunlight. During exposure, the gum hardens and the pigment becomes more distinct in proportion to the amount of light received. Washing removes areas not hardened by light, leaving a positive image.

In Brandt's prints, dust is the pigment, which produces a print of diminished tonal range and contrast. Prints have a faded look suggesting deterioration and the passage of time. More than an homage to the past, Brandt's prints are physical symbols of the past made with dust of the present.

— MOCA Jacksonville, Matthew Brandt’s ‘Dust’ Photos Record The Past and Present, by Paul Karabinis, 2017

https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/blog/Matthew-Brandt-s--Dust--photos-record-the-past-and-present/