Hans Gindlesberger

Cut Paper Silhouette (Girl, Age 9) Mid 18th Century - Mid 19th Century

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Salted Paper Print (Lawyer John F Belsterling) 1840 - 1860s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Daguerreotype (Man with Large Bow Tie) 1840 - 1865

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Hand Colored Photograph (Anna Margaret Blessing) 1840s - 1950s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Magic Lantern Slide (Bothwell Castle) 1848 - 1940s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Albumen Print (J.A. Bodie, Honesdale, PA, Evans Family) 1850 - 1895

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Carte de Visite (Man with Eyes Half Open) 1854 - 1870s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Ambrotype (Young Gentleman) 1855 - 1865

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Tintype (Boy in Plaid with Rosy Cheeks) 1855 - 1860s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Opalotype (Formally Dressed Woman and Man) 1857 - 1930s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Collotype (Hertenstein, Mt. Pilatus, Lucerne, Switzerland) 1860 - 1930s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Picture Postcard (Spooning in the Moon) 1870 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Carbon Print (Old Farm, France) 1870s - 1900s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Woodburytype (Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish Composer) 1870 - 1895

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Stereograph Card (Whirlpool Rapids, Niagara Falls) 1870 - 1920

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Cyanotype  (French Village Street) 1880 - 1920s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Platinum Print (English Theater Costume) 1880 - 1930s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Dry Plate Negative (Mother in Yard, Winter, Snow, Fur Coat) 1880 - 1900

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Photogravure (Chambre A Coucher Au Japon) 1880 - 1960s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Gelatin Silver Print (Germany ’45) 1885 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Flexible Film (Balloon Caught in Tree) 1887 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Autochrome (Rug, Eldred S. Bates Studio, 15 W. 28th St., NY) 1907 - 1935

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Bromoil Print (Statue Overlooking Lake) 1907 - 1930s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Orotone (Niagara Falls) 1910s - 1970s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

35mm Film (People and Places in Ohio) 1910s - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Photo Booth Strip (Frizzys, Buffalo, NY) 1925 - 1990s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

35mm Slide (South African Safari, Sexy Mom Granny) 1936 - 2010

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

View-Master Reel (The Matterhorn & Zermatt, Switzerland) 1939 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Diffusion Transfer (Two of Four Sisters) 1948 - 2008

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Dye Sublimation (Family on Beach) 1957 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Chromogenic Color Print (Father Fabian, Christmas 1964) 1960s - 1990s

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Offset Lithography (New Yorker, April 3, 2017) 1960s - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Inkjet Print (Baby’s First Passport Photo) 1976 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.

Digital Image (JPEG Format) (Niepce_Le_Gras.jpg) 1992 - Present

A Photographic Timeline inverts the photographic hierarchy of visual and tactile. A series of rubbings document the evolution of the photographic object throughout the medium’s history. The frottage technique obscures the visual information we typically desire from photographs, while calling forth another kind of surface information that speaks to the care, the abuse, the ornamentation, and alterations unique to each photograph’s encounter with the world. 

Rubbing is a method of investigation particularly relevant to photography. Henry Fox Talbot himself made the correlation to traditional mark making at the inception of photography when he called it “photogenic drawing.” Allegra Pesenti, curator of a recent exhibition that surveyed artists working with rubbing techniques, describes it as “an indexical contact process that re-inscribes an image with the notion of memorializing that which has passed away.” As a social activity, frottage’s objectives are synonymous with those of photography, but when the rubbing technique is applied to a photograph itself, it paradoxically negates photography’s essential character.

This series is functions as both a didactic look through photographic history and a call to re-sensitize ourselves to a physical relationship with images, which are today disproportionately encountered through digital screens.