“There’s a romantic feeling of pulling a photograph out of a polaroid camera, holding it in your hands and showing it to others. It can’t be replaced or replicated.” — Jack White
If you haven’t heard, Polaroid cameras have gone out of business. That is, until the Impossible Project stepped in to rescue its timeless machines. The Impossible Project is now the only company in the world producing instant film for classic Polaroid cameras.
Third Man Records is a big supporter of analog photography, so it became the inspiration for one of the Impossible Project’s special runs of limited-edition instant film. It develops in black and yellow, the colors of the label.
To launch this collaboration, Third Man selected three photographers to create a photo exhibition using the black and yellow film: Patrick Pantano, David Swanson and Third Man’s Angelina Castillo. The display opened last night at the label’s Blue Room from 7-9pm.
Third Man Records’ art exhibit
Angelina Castillo (right) with her artwork.
To celebrate the unique film, Third Man wanted to print some wide-format editions of the photos. There were several substrates from which to choose, including acrylic, aluminum, canvas, max metal and foam board.
Canvas is popular for those who wish to have the old-fashioned look of an oil painting (but don’t want to spend the money on traditional framing and modern photo mounting). If you know anything about Third Man Records, you know that they don’t go for the old-fashioned look.
Foam board and Gator board are popular mediums for events as they are easy to transport and affordable. They don’t look as nice as aluminum, max metal or acrylic. For this reason, Third Man nixed foam board.
Aluminum, max metal and acrylic all would have worked for Third Man’s art show, as all three have a sleek, modern look. They are all highly durable, lightweight and strong.
Third Man ended up choosing max metal, due to its specific look and because it prevents surface dings, scratching and denting better than any other substrate. It also happens to be the most cost-competitive composite board available.
Max metal art installation
Max metal photographs
Max metal interior graphic
Max metal photos — before cleaning
To mount the graphics on the wall, we used black standoffs. Standoffs come in various colors, but Third Man wanted black as that is one of their signature colors. The end result looked very chic.
black standoff
Black standoffs
If you didn’t get a chance to see Third Man’s display last night, the exhibition will remain open through the Sept. 16th during normal Third Man hours. To learn more about the exhibit, click here or watch the promotional video below.