'Innovate as a last resort'

It's Saturday, traditionally a day of recreation and indolence for many in America and the West, so I hope you have some time today to take in a couple of short films—running times 10:51 and 7:17 respectively. Get a cup of coffee, settle in.

A promotional film by the famous husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames, SX-70 was created for the 1972 rollout of the famous camera. It was shown at the shareholders' meeting that year and distributed on 16mm film to dealers and salespeople. A concise model of intelligent filmmaking that transcends its promotional function, it enlightens us equally about the formidable technology of the camera as well as its philosophical and conceptual underpinnings.

It's interesting especially when compared and contrasted with...

The contrarian art of John Chiara. Something to ponder in light of one of Charles Eames' most famous quotes: "Innovate as a last resort."*

If you still have time, you might want to read Michael Neault's very fine essay "The Films of Charles and Ray Eames."

___________________________

Mike (Thanks to Mark Seel and Taran Morgan)

*What did Eames mean? Essentially, look to tradition first; solve what problems you can by traditional means, and innovate only because you need to, not for its own sake.

Featured Comment by Grant: "That SX-70 is never going to catch on. Do you see how long it takes to chimp?"

Featured Comment by robert e: "What this pair of films seems to be telling me is that, aside from fabrication issues, a particular camera represents a particular set of assumptions about how photography should be approached and how photographs ought to look."

Mike replies: That, Sir, is the soul of succinctness.

Comments

[improbable]

Thanks for posting the Polaroid film. I enjoyed it.

I like the respect it shows for the viewer's intelligence. They start by mentioning Stieglitz! And aren't afraid to explain exactly how the optical system works (including a real image projected in space!) rather than falling back on buzzwords. I can't really picture anyone doing either of these things today.

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

I like that John Chiara is using this clumsy, archaic method of image making, yet he is so young he is talking in upspeak (when statements go up at the end so they sound like questions. "... kind of creating my own rules?"). A bit funny.

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

I think they never improved on the SX-70. I took some quite nice pictures with it.
Soft and muted, sure, but if you accept that as a style...

[Robin P]

Thank you Mike, wonderful weekend entertainment - the power of technology and the extreme behavioural weirdness of an artist!

Cheers, Robin

[Helcio J. Tagliolatto]

Oh Mike, you made our saturday!
The Eames's film is an œuvre d'art.
Than you.

Helcio
Bauru/BR

[Dop]

The SX70 film is fantastic, thanks for bringing it to attention.

[Aaron Spence]

2 brilliant films... thanks.

[Matt]

Um... Really? That promo film for the polaroid camera was like pulling teeth for me. I mean there was a level of daggy novelty value to it, but that was about it.
Sure there is some technical information presented, but for me, all it did was show exactly why this is the wrong medium for such information. It all comes is a big wave too fast and too sparsely punctuated to make sense of it. I'm sure it is fine if you are well versed in the workings of such a camera, but for the intended audience? This is then juxtaposed against big sections of nothingness.
Furthermore how is telling me it has '200 transistors and as many resistors' anything other than a marketing buzzword (or phrase). It's just meaningless technical jargon. Similarly, aspherical elements might sound like good important information from our position of knowledgeable photographers in the present... but i fail to see how it is any more inherently valid in a marketing context than "ultra mega dynamic range maximiser circuitry".

The other piece i thought was fine. Sure he is a young guy not wowing anyone with his concise verbal fluency, but really, maybe that has something to do with why he feels the need to climb into a cupboard with a lens to express himself. It wasn't an enthralling watch, but i found it markedly less tiresome than the first piece.

I wonder how much nostalgia or a lack thereof is affecting everyone's judgements.

[John]

I, too, am greatly appreciative for you bringing these to our attention. Both films, the Polaroid promotional piece in particular, are beautiful on many levels.

[PWP]

The SX-70 was wonderful. I was an early adopter and shot hundreds and hundreds of exposures in the 70's. I still have them all and they have held up well over the past 30+ years. I just couldn't resist seeing my pictures within minutes; no wonder I'm addicted to digital now!

I regret that the film is no longer available; it had a palette all its own.

PWP

[Michael W]

Good stuff, first time I've seen either of those. John Chiara is great. Powers of Ten is another great short film by the Eames. Probably on Youtube. I'm still shooting Polaroid 600 in a SLR680, very similar to SX70.

[Jay Moynihan]

Thanks for posting both videos, exspecially the SX-70 one. I still have two of them that were purchased used.
But alas, no film.
I used to do the manipulation thing with them (moving around the emulsion while it was still forming/drying).
I found that if I kept it warmer than the ambient temperature, you could extend the time you had to work in.

Here is another person's site about this:
http://www.pola-art.de/technique

I could then take a Macro of the resulting Polariod, and continue to a final image.

It is (apart from Kodachrome 25 & 200) the only film that I miss.

[charlie d]

Great

What a nice way to spend my Sunday AM. Enjoyed both and not sure about anybody else but the Simon Jeffes music (Penguin Cafe Orchestra in the John Chiara piece) was perfect. That music always, always motivates me and now I want to go make some photos. Maybe even bring the iPod along.

Happy.

[David]

There was an excellent element of comedy in that Chiara flick.

I love this John Chiara...

[Bob Travis]

I'd seen the Chiara video already, but never the SX70 one. What a brilliant piece! I never before fully appreciated what an amazing confluence of optical / mechanical/ electronic / chemical / human engineering inventiveness that camera system embodied. It's truly wonderful that in addition to the technical "wow" factor, some great art was also on display.

Thank you!

[Bill Bresler]

Thanks, Mike, especially for the SX-70 piece. I do miss that film. I shot my first SX-70 in 1972 at a Polaroid event. I worked with it, off and on, until the film was no longer available. I know I could modify my 3 SX-70s for the 600 film, but it does not manipulate like the older emulsion. Here's a link to some of my work of the past 10 years...
http://www.pbase.com/bbresler/sx70_roids__transfers
I'm still in mourning.

[Ken Tanaka]

Charles and Ra Eames' short films were truly works of art. The SX-70 film was a masterpiece. It's a joy to watch. I actually think I saw this when it was new because it looks and sounds very familiar. (Polaroid was the ONLY camera and film I was using in 1970-1974/75...I was manic.) Sadly, that richly erudite but mild form of documentation and exposition might not be well-received today.

I also very much enjoyed the John Chiara piece. It, of course, was more of a first-person narrative. But I was very interested in his process and and seeing his work. I wanted to talk with him as the film progressed. So it was also a very well-done piece, although in a different and perhaps more contemporarily acceptable style.

[Ken Tanaka]

An Addendum:

This evening I discovered that Charles and Ray Eames' short films are available as a compilation from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009S2K92/theonlinephot-20

They're also available as six separate volumes.

Also, if you've never sat in an original classic Eames chair your butt and back haven't lived. (http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/0,1592,a4-c440-p47,00.html) It was first introduced in 1956 on NBC's Today show (YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfzLzOl795E) and quickly became an icon of modern ("mod") design. Yes, it's been surpassed in comfort and flexibility in the intervening 52 years but it's still pretty darn comfy (at least for typical 1950s physiques) and still manufactured!

[Dennis Allshouse]

Am I taking a flyer here to suggest the same Eames brothers were furniture designers? If so and you're into stamps, the Post Office currently has a set of stamps featuring their designs. The film is outstanding. And I found the techno tidbits utterly fascinating. The film also had a poignant quality which you just do not see anymore.

[Mike J.]

"Am I taking a flyer here to suggest the same Eames brothers were furniture designers?"

Yup, but they were husband and wife, not brothers.

Mike J.

[Ken Tanaka]

"Yup, but they were husband and wife, not brothers."

And not to be confused with "Ray Charles" who was a...