Pier No. 9, Cyanotype Study: 2020-2021
Original image from the archive of The Library Company of Philadelphia, 5x4’, cyanotype photograph on bleached muslin
Original image from the archive of The Library Company of Philadelphia, 5x4’, cyanotype photograph on bleached muslin
Original image from the archive of The Library Company of Philadelphia, 5x4’, cyanotype photograph on bleached muslin
Original image from the archive of The Library Company of Philadelphia, 5x4’, cyanotype photograph on bleached muslin
All photos in this series are artistic re-prints of historic images from the archives of Library Company of Philadelphia.
Cyanotype Photographs on Bleached Muslin
"Pier No. 9 Cyanotype Study" consists of five large scale cyanotype photographs on bleached muslin fabric. The pieces were created using historic images of the pier during construction and immediately after completion of construction. Original images range from 1917-1919. The images measure 5'x4' and are stretched on a simple canvas stretcher.
When I was tasked with creating a large scale body of work to hang in the Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia, PA, I immediately thought of cyanotype. While researching the history of the pier I came across a set of images documenting the entire construction of the structure that still stands almost exactly as it did in 1919. During the time that the pier was being constructed it is extremely likely that all the schematics, measurements and instructions for construction were created using the cyanotype process. Using this process to create large scale reproductions of the construction documentation ties together the history of the pier and the history of photography while creating works that have an impact within the large scale space of the pier itself.