Ruined Polaroid #27 © William Miller
Beyond the boast of "democratizing photography" (which the Brownie Camera did more than a century ago), one of Instagram's first signatures was its square format and countless filters that nostalgically mimicked film types, flares, and early analog-only processes. Among these, its loudest nod was perhaps to Polaroid photography, in both its aesthetic and its instantaneous process.
In his recent book "The Camera Does The Rest: How Polaroid Changed Photography," Peter Buse, while providing a thorough history, likens the Polaroid to a Sony Walkmen -- an "expired technology that lives in the past." While his claim rings true on many levels, great work has been done to bring the medium into present, and future. For example, The Impossible Project's reinvention of the film (and purchase of its factories) when Polaroid shut down production in 2008, and Land Camera/ Rare Medium's efforts to restore old Polaroid cameras and create a community around them.
So where does this leave photographers who are still making Polaroid specific work? How does "digital nativity" and seeing the world thru an app or phone-driven lens color or inform new Polaroid work. Is it possible to work within the medium without relying on nostalgia? For Humble's next open call, "Group Show #50: 'Roid Rage" we want to see Polaroid work made since 2010, the year Instagram launched.
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