Polaroid: The Magic Material
Once a staple of nearly every household, art studio, and office, Polaroid teetered on the brink of extinction in 2008, pushed to the edge by the rapid rise of digital devices. The Polaroid headquarters, formerly the pride of Boston's hi-tech highway, emptied, then fell into ruin, taking life-long careers and decades of innovation with it. It did not take long for heartbreak and regret to set in. Unlike digital images which are free, virtually unlimited, easily manipulated and shared electronically, Polaroid pictures provided the satisfaction of instant development and ease of use, but were absolutely singular, and could only be altered manually, with skill and more faith than precision. They were, in essence, each a unique work of beauty or strangeness or banality.
Here is where the passion of Florian "Doc"Kaps stepped in with The Impossible Project - a dream (shared by many) that became the company that saved Polaroid film (in all its formats) from complete extinction.
Polaroid: The Magic Material tells the story of Polaroid itself, from its invention, to its many uses and famed users, through its 11th hour rescue by Doc and his supporters. Filled with vintage photos that show the range and unique visual properties of Polaroid film - the privacy intrinsic in its processing that allowed for home-made erotica, the ease that made family snapshots feel honest and unscripted, and the immediacy that helped artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chuck Close, and even Ansel Adams perfect their shots and framing.
Source: Quarto Publishing Group
