Photo Types

Exhibit at museum shows Riverside residents in antique-style photos

10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, February 2, 2010

By DAVID OLSON
The Press-Enterprise

The photographs in the "Riverside-Americans" exhibition now at the UC Riverside/California Museum of Photography look like they were taken 150 years ago.

They were created with 19th century techniques, using metal plates and a time-consuming development process that sometimes leaves peeled-up film at the edges.

But the subjects are modern-day Riverside residents. And a comparison with actual 19th century photos reveals differences that go beyond changing fashions and hairstyles.

The subjects are a cross-section of Riverside: Black, Latino, white and Asian. They all volunteered to be photographed. They were allowed to wear whatever clothing they wished.

In the 19th century, many subjects of photos were forced to pose by colonial rulers, their bosses or slave masters, said photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley. They were often told how to look. Some American Indians were photographed with clothing and headdresses that belonged to other tribes.

Some 19th century photographers and scientists used the then-new technology to document physical differences that they believed proved white racial superiority. At the time, it was believed that a photograph, unlike a painting, was totally objective.

"It took awhile for people to realize that photos have been staged since the 1850s," said Anderson-Staley, who lives in New York City. "The story being told in the image is not always the true image at all."

Relatively few people of color in the 1800s probably had the money to pay for a formal portrait in elegant clothing, so the photos of whites are more likely to be stately photos with expressions that convey self-confidence, while the photos of people of color are more likely to show the discomfort of reluctantly posing in settings not of their choosing, often as part of anthropological studies, said Reggie Cortez Woolery, director of digital-studio and education outreach at the museum.

As in 19th century photos, the models in "Riverside-Americans" have a serious look. That's because the exposure took as many as 45 seconds and any movement -- such as a waning smile -- could cause a blurry photo.

The exhibit uses a 19th century photographic tintype technique in which blackened metal is dipped into a solution and exposed in the camera while still wet. Anderson-Staley developed the images in a makeshift cardboard darkroom. Nineteenth century photographers also used mobile darkrooms because the photos had to be developed before the solution dried.

The museum invited Anderson-Staley to Riverside in October to demonstrate the tintype technique. Cortez Woolery liked the results so much that he asked her if the museum could put the photos on display. The Riverside images are displayed on three 42-inch plasma televisions and on the museum Web site. Twenty-seven other Anderson-Staley tintype photos are exhibited nearby. Cortez Woolery sees the tintype images as a more honest representation of modern subjects than digital photography. "I think you see more in these pictures," Cortez Woolery said. "They (the subjects) had to slow down. They couldn't project a mask."

Reach David Olson at 951-368-9462 or dolson@PE.com