Photo ˜ Sculpture

Abstract

‘However marvellous was the discovery of photography itself,we could understand how the image of the camera obscura could leave its impression upon a chemical surface susceptible of being affected by the very light which makes it apparent to our senses. We were afterwards enabled to understand, although with more difficulty, how the stereoscope could raise two flat photographic pictures into one, presenting the illusion of relief. In fact, this seemed to us the only sculpture, or at least the only illusion of sculpture, which might possibly be the result of the process of photography, and the word photo-sculpture to us could not convey any other meaning; for it seemed utterly impossible that photography could transfer a block of clay, or any other materials employed by sculptors, into a real plastic form¹.’     

Aadu Treufeldt (1874˜1956)

Abstract

The period 1900-30 is of great interest in the history of Estonian photography, because it was only then that the camera became a familiar implement, the photographer an honoured person in our society and the photograph itself an everyday thing. One could order ‘picture boxes’ from abroad or buy them at local shops and, as a result of the universal enthusiasm, a great many shopkeepers, teachers and office workers became amateurs, in the towns as well as in the country. They were self-taught from books, or else had attended lessons given by someone who was. In the country, they often played the role of pioneers, because photographers were still rare at the time, and previous visits were not always remembered by the locals. In due course, some of these ‘pioneers’ became professionals.     

Meletius Dutkiewicz (1836˜1897)

Abstract

Dutkiewicz, a fascinating and in some ways tragic character, has had no luck with biographers. Apart from one article in a photographic monthly ¹ Polish Biographical Dictionary, Cracow (1948), Vol. 6, pp. 15-16. This is in fact a résumé of an article by Aleksander Karoli, ‘In memoriam of Meletius Dutkiewicz’, published in a photographic monthly of Warsaw, Swiat?o (Light), No. 10 (1899), pp. 448-452. , and a brief entry in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, no published information concerning him has been traced. However, much that is of interest can be gleaned from surviving correspondence between the eminent Polish photographers Karol Beyer, Joseph Kordysz and Michal Greim ² Only a part of this correspondence was published by Juliusz Garztecki in his book on Michal Greim Mistrz zapominiany (Forgotten Master), Wydawnictwo Literackie, Cracow (1972). .     

Francis James Mortimer, 1874˜1944

Abstract

One night, at the Savage Club, F.J. accepted a unique wager, and a few months later the Royal Academy, unwittingly, hung in its water-colour section a coloured photograph. That delicately tinted blue seascape had earned its place.     

Nevil Story˜Maskelyne, 1823–1911

Abstract

Nevil Story-Maskelyne is not a man whose name readily comes to mind as a pioneer experimenter in photography, but he should not be ignored. As a young man of 22 in 1845, he revealed to Fox Talbot his devotion to photography and became a lifelong friend. During the Patent trial, Talbot v. Laroche—1855, he took a firm line of support, opposing the general opinions of the Council of the Photographic Society, a courageous attitude for one so young. In a letter to Talbot, he said at the time: ‘No man in my belief can take from you this that you first showed, that Iodide of Silver formed in the moist way [i.e., from solutions] was capable of being made acceptable of a latent effort under the influence of light, which in subsequent treatment with substances capable of a sort of reducing (dioxidying) [sic] action, was capable of developing into a visible effect. This I believe to be yours and on it, it seems to me your point rests securely’1 Letter LA54-60 (26th November 1854), Lacock Abbey Collection. . He went on to comment on those who had seen fit to claim the invention as their own, and said that they were men ‘most deeply indebted to you for their living at all’. Maskelyne was gifted, kind, generous, devoted to his family, and a highly intelligent scientist.     

William Carrick: A Scots photographer in St Petersburg (1827˜1878)

Abstract

William Carrick, whose name now appears in the Bolshaya Sovietskaya Encyclopaedia as one of the founders of Russian photography, was born of Scottish parents in Edinburgh, on 31st December 1827. A few months later he was taken to Russia, which was to be his home for the rest of his life. His grandfather and father were timber merchants, and ran their business from Cronstadt, the port for St. Petersburg.     

G. Schauer: Photograph und Kunst-Verleger in Berlin, 1851–1864

Abstract

Diejenigen, die sich mit Fragen der Popularisierung von Kunst im 19 Jahrhundert befassen, können die mit Original-Photographien illustrierten Bücher nicht unbeachtet lassen.     

Thaumasite Sulfate Attack,Popcorn Calcite Deposition and acid attack in concrete stored at the «Blindtarmen» test site Oslo,from 1952 to 1982

In past decades, concrete in contact with Oslo Alum Shale suffered severe deterioration, frequently involving quick and complete degradation of the cement paste matrix. The Norwegian Alum Shale Committee (1947–1972) concluded that this was due to secondary ettringite deposition and acid attack. The most resistant concrete mixes were based on Sulfate Resisting Portland Cements or those containing a pozzolanic supplementary cementitious mineral. However, the present work concludes that this “classic” sulfate attack was triggered by deleterious Thaumasite Sulfate Attack and Popcorn Calcite Deposition in close association with effects of externally derived acid attack. This paper provides an outline of the previous work and the first petrographic documentation of concrete prisms previously exposed at the “Blindtarmen” test site. Two important novel reaction mechanisms were also found: 1) the development of high crystallisation pressure associated with Thaumasite Formation, and 2) full scale Thaumasite Sulfate Attack was most efficient after partial or complete decalcification of calcium silicate hydrate: thaumasite had formed at the expense of remaining amorphous silica and associated secondary popcorn calcite. Comparison with modern sprayed concrete on Alum Shale shows that influence of Thaumasite Sulfate Attack and internal carbonation was faster under a hydraulic gradient than under static conditions.