drilling for silver

bits of things. if you have to moderate the topic, you have the wrong gathering — 

VCP, bring out the prints. generous support of Mark Tarmy. Joshua Farr and Mitch Weiss  curators

What they announce:

Drawn from a remarkable local collection, these prints invite you to get close—see the paper, the grain, the edge of the negative—and slow down with images that carry time and story across generations. It’s a chance to experience iconic photographs as objects, not just pictures on a screen: how they’re printed, toned, and cared for, and why those choices matter to what we see and feel.

The exhibition brings together 36 works by 31 artists, spanning nearly a century of photographic history, with dates ranging from 1916 to 2004. The selection highlights both silver gelatin and platinum prints, offering a rich material and historical range that underscores the enduring power and evolution of the photographic print

UP TO DATE:

They will discuss specific images in the show and their significance from the perspectives of technique, meaning, and place in history. This conversation opens a window into the relationships between artists and collectors, and why photographic prints continue to matter in a screen-saturated world.

IN CONVERSATION: Mark Tarmy & Lynne Weinstein | VCP

the collector’s start:

Like most American business stories, Vermont Plank Flooring was born of a degree of foresight, a little bit of luck, and a lot of hard work.]

Our Story – The History of Vermont Wide Plank Flooring

Instead of collecting stories of drillbits , rather than collecting boxes of future used\ items, he collected photographs .

the why of this aside: Drillbits from one Plant in China are produced at 20 Tons a day.. packaged and over 100 brand going to the United States Germany even Austria… with Austria importing specialists steal from China for their use in machine tool making..

caution of the long tail: people thinking their experience is more useful than it is; that they bring more knowledge than they do . they have a view of a business — they think that that view, and experience applies across all business… ADDITIONAL. the china syndrome:

the problem is some forums are populated by a very few highly skilled honest members … how can you tell; they give references. they show their work. you are welcome to the table ;their ideas grow. they have new stories…

prejudice is often a mask itself.. revealing itself. prejudice is a mask that sometimes shows;it has dominance…you married an asian to dominate one. prejudice is often inscrutable… I can’t be prejudiced I married one; yet you’re married to dominate; reminder, prejudice is about domination…

see YouTube bit test … left as an exercise.


drill bits.. footnote. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2026/02/ancientegyptiandrillbit/ This re-analysis suggests that Egyptian craftspeople mastered reliable rotary drilling more than two millennia before some of the best-preserved drill sets.

imagine having a collection of prints instead of bits n bobs

Continue reading “drilling for silver”

Mark Citret: One Method

have nothing to say

when you can’t say much, are struggling to find something meaningful about second rate art collection; call it “world class,” and pray that no one cares anyway.


Rodinal– Polyfiber A — Sterling Semi-Gloss VC

Mark Citret uses Sinar Norma, and Toyo VX125 4×5 view cameras. TheNorma is stable, however the Toyo is lighter. His basic set of four: a 72mm SuperAngulon XL, a 110mm SuperSymmar XL, a 180mm Fujinon W and a 300mm Fujinon C. Mounted on smaller Linof lens boards reducing bag space.

He (1999) uses T-MAX 100 film in 4×5 Readyloads and develops the film using a 1:49 dilution of Agfa Rodinal with nine minutes duration for normal development, and a 1:149 dilution at 12 minutes for his “-3 development.” 

Printing: Kodak Polyfiber A paper with a special toning process of his own invention to make his “vellum” prints for gallery work; because there is a limited supply of the Polyfiber paper, he makes his first prints on Sterling Semi-Gloss VC paper; selenium & sepia toned.