Ann Beason and Merri Lawrence: Silver Linings

Ann Beason, Fall Fennel, 2021, Pigment print on archival fine art paper, 14 x 11 inches

Looking for a silver lining to the pandemic, two friends and lifelong artists, Ann Beason and Merri Lawrence, found inspiration in a centuries old technique invented by William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877). By fixing a light-exposed image on paper treated with silver iodide, Talbot produced what he named a calotype, from the Greek words meaning “beautiful image”. In effect, Talbot created a negative image that could be converted into a positive one, thereby allowing it to be replicated, unlike the earlier and sharper daguerreotype, which was unique. This was a pioneering move toward more versatile photography and one of the end results is known today as a photogram.

In 2020, Beason and Lawrence began to experiment with a process analogous to that of Talbot. Using silver-based paper and choosing a variety of natural translucent materials, they have created a series of photograms with an interplay of positive and negative forms, patterns, and shapes. Working together in a darkroom built in an old barn with an antique enlarger and 19th Century photographic processes, they did indeed find their “silver lining” in a time of isolation.

Merri Lawrence, Sumac, 2020, Pigment print on archival fine art paper 14 x 17 ½ inches