Quote o' the Day: Paper is Patient

I loved the German idiom at the end of this comment from a reader named John (as John translated it):

"I maintain the David Vestal tradition, which he got from Sid Grossman at the Photo League. Four small analogue prints on an 8x10 sheet, then whack ‘em through the guillotine. Many end up stuck to fridge doors or on pinboards for surprisingly long periods. What is really interesting is how many get carefully kept for years. Last year at a motorway service station, I noticed a stranger intently peering at me for no apparent reason. Once past the a newly grown beard, I recognised someone not seen for seventeen years. After the catch-up stuff, he and his wife told me they have box reserved for the accumulating cards, as do others...confirming the German phrase, 'Papier ist geduldig,' paper is patient. (Has an alternative meaning, paper doesn’t blush.)"

I love that. I wrote an encomium to books once in which I called them the most patient of friends, because they will wait for you indefinitely and never complain.

I could almost say that what I really love best about photography is "pictures on paper." Magazines, books, posters, prints.... No need to be limited I guess (because why cut yourself off from anything?), but it does make what seems to be a valuable distinction for me. What I have appreciated the most for most of my life are photographs expressed on some substrate that allows them to remain fixed and patient, awaiting attention from an audience or from the future. (I've gotten so much joy from "survivor pictures," pictures that have come down to us from the past. The past is present in photographs.)

Mike

[Ed. note: As I guess I realized would happen, it turns out there are conflicting explanations as to what the German expression means. Not exactly what I think it does. I've heard or read about five different explanations so far (see the Comments section). So maybe take my interpretation of the expression with a grain of salt.]

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Bobby Salmon: "David Vestal was one of the only instructors I learned anything of value from in art school, and was a wonderful human being. Really miss him."

Allan Graham: "I love the idea that 'the past is present in photographs,' particularly if the photograph is something like a tintype or a Kodachrome. Because then you have a true archaeological artifact connecting you directly to a moment past and the people who were there then. Pixels on a screen don't have quite the same resonance."

Bandbox: "'Pictures on paper' indeed. They've been the constant product of my photography, mostly black and white, since I was given my first camera as a little boy many years ago. For about 40 years, they were mostly 8x10- and 11x14-inch prints, with a few 16x20s, I made from negatives in my darkroom, until I went digital. For a while, I made digital prints up to 13x19, matted and mounted, and framed for exhibitions. But I don't do that anymore.

"Now, just about all my prints are very small, from about 2x4 up to 8x8, and mainly printed on Polar matte and very thin mulberry printmaking papers using an Epson 3880 inkjet printer. The great thing about modern digital photography for me is its enormous versatility and adaptability in making pictures on paper and other substrates, such as fabric sheets, and easily incorporating those pictures into other media, such as collages, encaustics[*], and art journals. Pictures on paper these days are more multifaceted than ever."

[* "Encaustic is a Greek word meaning 'to heat or burn in' (enkaustikos). Heat is used throughout the process, from melting the beeswax and varnish to fusing the layers of wax. Encaustic consists of natural bees wax and dammar resin (crystallized tree sap)." (Encaustic Art Institute) —Ed.]

Comments

[Rob Griffin]

Mike,

Thank you for sending me to he dictionary once again. Encomium, wonderful word! I hope you never find that you have to write an eulogy for books. In these times, I believe the printed page is more important than ever.

[JimH]

Are you familiar with Agnes Varga's film "Faces Places" from 2017? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5598102/
"Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship."
Great pictures in great places!

https://images.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/movies/2017/10/27/a-delightful-small-film-about-big-faces-reel-brief-reviews/aaaaafacesplaces.jpg.size-custom-crop.1086x0.jpg

[Pk]

There is a piece now on slashdot called 'Youtubers are upscaling the past to 4k'which might be of interest.

[Roel Kramer]

Hello Mike,
With respect to “paper is patient”: it is actually used when someone tells he/ she has written down plans or ideas. In case you think it unlikely that they are going to be realised, you may say “paper is patient” (you can write anything down on paper, but realising them is a different matter.
Best regards,
Roel Kramer,
The Netherlands

[Nigel]

"...in which I called them the most patient of friends, because they will wait for you indefinitely and never complain."

Like.

[Ansgar]

AFAIK (as a german myself), the main meaning of "Papier ist geduldig" is that the things you read aren't necessarily true, just because they have been put into print. I.e. you can write any old lie, without the paper fighting back -- it will patiently accept any text you put down.

[Larry Angier]

For the few weddings I still photograph each year, I make sure that they are delivered with a set of prints. However, I just don't run them through my friend's minilab which still kicks out hundreds of 3x5 through 8x10 prints weekly, but something unique.

My approach isn't just to print a stack of 4x6 or 3x5 prints, but thinking to the days of the dark room, print them up a bunch of 4x6 prints gang-sheet style on 24x36 inch prints. As I tell them, this is unique and it's tough to loose one of these sheets like smaller prints in the seat cushions and the their friends can't simply grab a pix or two. I always leave them an out that once they are finished enjoying the large sheets, bring them back and I'll cut them into smaller prints later. I've been doing this from at least 15-17 years ever since I got my first large-format printer. Everyone loves these!

As I explain to my brides and couples, besides getting the files, they need images printed on paper. Even the first photographs from nearly two centuries are still preserved and can be seen, no technology needed. However, sitting at the toilet and the phone falls in, there goes years of photos and memories. It gives them something to enjoy for years to come.

Besides the loss of a smart phone with years of unbacked-up photos another factor is digital rot. Nobody knows the future of our digital files, let alone hardware and software. Kodak PhotoCDs, anyone? I think Photoshop CC 2 (9.x) was the last with an import module to open those, let alone finding a CD/DVD drive. Those 12-inch Laser Disks from the early 1980s? Good quality prints will probably outlast us all.

[Maarten B.]

I see your Ed. Note so my comment is not adding anything I suppose. This is a Dutch expression too, papier is geduldig. The core meaning in Dutch is that idiots can write anything down on paper but it doesn’t mean it is right or true. It stems from the idea that if people read it in a newspaper, book or similar source one might think that it will be true because of that. To contest that someone could say: Papier is geduldig!