SC Connecticut News

At a recent symposium, Yale’s Lens Media Lab (LML) introduced an interactive visual platform to study its extensive collection of photographic papers. The event, titled “From Darkroom to Data: New Insights into the Material History of Photography,” was held at the O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall in the Yale Science Building.

Paul Messier, now the Pritzker Director of LML at Yale’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, recounted his 1999 analysis of two prints by photographer Lewis Hine suspected to be forgeries. Despite gathering substantial evidence suggesting the prints were fakes, Messier found it challenging to draw definitive conclusions. This experience motivated him to develop more effective methods for identifying and measuring photographic paper properties.

“I needed to ground the assertions I was making in material fact,” Messier said during his presentation at the symposium.

Established in 2015, LML is located at Yale’s West Campus and integrates science with arts and humanities to explore black-and-white photography history. The lab's research helps curators, conservators, and art historians understand photography collections better.

Messier began collecting photographic papers after his experience with Hine’s prints and eventually amassed about 7,500 samples produced from 1890 through 2012. This collection is now housed at Yale and serves as a reference for materials-focused research.

The new tool unveiled at the symposium is called Paperbase. Designed by Damon Crockett, LML’s lead scientist, Paperbase allows researchers to explore data on base color, gloss, thickness, and texture from approximately 7,000 objects in the reference collection. The platform presents thousands of tiny cubes representing individual items arranged in a grid pattern based on their color.

“I designed it this way because when you’re in a traditional collections viewer, it’s very hard to see the entire collection all at once,” Crockett explained.

Users can click on cubes to access detailed information about specific papers or use filters for detailed searches within specific date ranges or other criteria such as manufacturer or texture. Results can be visually organized into scatter plots, clusters, and histograms.

Kappy Mintie from LML demonstrated Paperbase's potential through various case studies. For example, searching for “special cream” base color revealed that these papers were exclusively part of Gevaluxe brand by Belgium-based manufacturer Gevaert from the 1930s through 1960.

The symposium also highlighted collaborations between LML and cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). Nora Kennedy and Katherine Sanderson from Met discussed their project with LML aimed at understanding Man Ray’s process for creating “Rayograph” photograms. Their findings indicated that nearly all Rayographs studied were made using matte papers rather than glossy ones.

“This is where the importance of the Lens Media Lab becomes very clear,” Kennedy stated regarding their collaboration with LML.

In conclusion remarks, Messier emphasized that quantifying photographic print materiality enhances our understanding of artists who used photography creatively.

“This is not about data for data’s sake,” he said. “It’s about understanding the creative process.”