Alison Rossiter: Compendium 1898–1919

Alison Rossiter: “In honor of Anna Atkins who was the first person to illustrate a book with photographs, I have produced Compendium 1898–1919, a chronology of twelve assemblages made from the earliest expired photographic papers in my collection. The exact expiration dates of these papers pinpoint their location on a timeline and coexist with events in world history. No matter what the light-sensitive materials have endured through dormant years, they still respond to chemical development, and the resulting photographic tones are evidence of experience. Physical damage, moisture, and mold produce tonal changes when developed, and I consider these effects to be subject matter.” 

This book, a co-publication with the New York Public Library and Yossi Milo, includes all twelve works from the series at actual scale, along with close-up details, photographed by Peter Riesett, Head Photographer, Digital Imaging Unit, New York Public Library. The reference dates, which cover world events such as World War II and the sinking of the Titanic, and art-historical references such as the founding of the Bauhaus, are included as a reference key in the back of the book.

Alison Rossiter (b. 1953; Jackson, MS) creates camera-less photographs on expired, vintage photo paper that harness the untapped material potential of relics from centuries past. Her inspiration to work this way came from a foray into conservation work as a volunteer and appreciative observer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which revealed to her the deep history of materials and supplies as the foundation of photography. Over the past two decades, the artist has assembled a library of photographic papers, with rare and prestigious examples dating back to the 19th century. A profound reverence for these papers is the ultimate motivation behind Rossiter's work: after years or decades in storage, she finally develops these historical samples, activating them after the effects of time have long played out on their surfaces.