- Artist
- Stan Douglas born 1960
- Medium
- 3 photographs, colour, on paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 760 × 1015 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased with assistance from the American Fund for the Tate Gallery and the Art Fund 2001
- Reference
- P78413
Summary
This photographic triptych is directly related to Douglas's video installation Win, Place or Show (Tate T07700) and the group of photographs, Strathcona Series (Tate P78414-P78421), and can be displayed alongside these works. Douglas frequently produces photographs that relate to his video installations. These three images show the meticulously constructed set from different angles and the placement of the twelve cameras used to make the film. Like the film, the photographs expose the systematic construction of a single on-screen 'truth' from a multiple, fragmented reality. Douglas's sets are precise, but they are a hybrid, a virtual world that never existed in life beyond the camera.
Further Reading
Lynne Cooke, Sianne Ngai, Nancy Shaw and Neville Wakefield, Double Vision: Stan Douglas and Douglas Gordon, exhibition catalogue, Dia Center for Art, New York 2000
Diana Augaitis, George Wagner and William Wood, Stan Douglas, exhibition catalogue, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver and Foundation for Contemporary Art, Tilburg 1999, reproduced pp.83, 102-105 in colour
Carol J Glover, Diana Thater and Scott Watson, Stan Douglas, London 1998
Tanya Barson
February 2001
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Technique and condition
A triptych of colour photographs, Ilfochrome on resin coated paper support. Dating from 1998 and relating to a video work by Douglas called Win, Place or Show (acquired by Tate with the photographs). The work is in an edition of 7 and this is number 3. Technically the process is called a 'silver dye bleach process'. Basically, pre-formed dyes are incorporated into the emulsion during manufacture, and are catalystically destroyed to form the image during processing. The colours dyes that make up the hues of the finished print are all incorporated in the support right from the off-set. During processing, the dyes are selectively bleached away to leave the coloured image. The process tends to be used for making prints from transparencies and is available with a gloss finish which is the case with this print. The Image fills the entire sheet with no blank borders. The three photographs are drymounted onto high density plastic panels and individually framed within a maple wood L-section frame with white museum board window mounts. On acquisition the work is in good condition.
Note: The photographic process called Ilfochrome, is still more commonly known as Cibachrome (developed by Ciba-Geigy in Switzerland and popular after 1974) because when this process was taken up by artists Cibachrome was the material they commonly used. In fact Ilford have offered they own version since 1960 and more recently (1991-1992) the Cibachrome process has been taken over by Ilford and is now known as Ilfochrome Classic.
Calvin Winner
October 2001