[Unfinished photosculpture bust]
Sculpture
[Unfinished photosculpture bust]
ca. 1860
Oak and twine on base
Overall (bust): 5 5/8 × 3 1/8 × 2 15/16 in. (14.3 × 8 × 7.5 cm)
Overall (base): 2 5/16 in. (5.8 cm)
Diameter (base): 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
Gift of Eastman Kodak Company, ex-collection Gabriel Cromer
1985.0517.0001
Inscriptions Inscribed in black ink (Cromer's hand) on printed label applied on base bottom, C: Collection photographique \ de Gab. Cromer \ Photoscupture [underlined] \ [Willeme.] \ Statuette réalisée par \ l'artiste en découpant \ les profils successifs \ du sujet d'après autant \ de photographies. \ Voir ma communication \ du 23 Mai [19]24 à \ la S.F.P. de Photographie. \ [LC, underlined] Pièce unique.
Inscribed in black ink, white label applied to base bottom, BR: EHPC \ 6-5
Inscribed in black ink, white label applied to base bottom, BR: EHPC \ 6-5
TextIn 1860 François Willème devised a novel method to make sculptures by photography. Subjects were asked to sit or stand on a platform below a circular skylight. The circular interior of the studio was equipped with twenty four cameras, mounted in niches around the room. A single lever controlled the cameras to make simultaneous exposures of the subject from twenty four different angles. The result was a complete set of negatives, each being a different record of the subject.
The negatives were used to produce paper prints which were trimmed to reveal an outline silhouette. These silhouette patterns were traced upon thin sheets of wood that were tapered thinner along the opposite edge. The contours were then cut from the wood sheets and the pieces assembled like the segments of an orange, resulting in a statue of the sitter. Some final sanding was required to remove the step-like surface of the wood sheets. (label for exhibition written by Mark Osterman)
This example was left unfinished.
The negatives were used to produce paper prints which were trimmed to reveal an outline silhouette. These silhouette patterns were traced upon thin sheets of wood that were tapered thinner along the opposite edge. The contours were then cut from the wood sheets and the pieces assembled like the segments of an orange, resulting in a statue of the sitter. Some final sanding was required to remove the step-like surface of the wood sheets. (label for exhibition written by Mark Osterman)
This example was left unfinished.
