Christina Z. Anderson and Tricolor gum bichromates

Christina Z. Anderson talks about her work in the Tricolor gum bichromate process and shows some gum bichromate prints.

Writer and photography / Christina Z. Anderson


Gum print by Christina Z. Anderson
Entropy by Christina Z. Anderson.

About Christina Z. Anderson

Christina Z. Anderson’s work focuses on the contemporary vanitas printed in a variety of 19th century photographic processes. Anderson’s work has shown nationally and internationally in over 120 shows and 60 publications. Anderson has authored books which have sold in over 40 countries—The Experimental Photography WorkbookGum Printing and Other Amazing Contact Printing ProcessesGum Printing, A Step by Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative PracticeSalted Paper Printing, A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists, and Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice; also Digital Negatives with QuadToneRIP, Demystifying QTR for Photographers and Printmakers co-authored with Ron Reeder, and Handcrafted: The Art and Practice of the Handmade Print co-authored with Wang, Jianming, and King. The Experimental Darkroom, her newest book, will be released fall 2022. Anderson is Series Editor for Focal Press/Routledge’s Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography series and Professor of Photography at Montana State University. To see her work, visit christinaZanderson.com.

Gum bichromate by Christina Z. Anderson.
Summer Rain by Christina Z. Anderson.

Tricolor gum bichromates

Entropy
My love affair with the altered landscape began in 2003 when I moved to South Carolina for graduate school. There I saw my first kudzu. This beautiful plant with its heady fragrance, purported to grow up to a foot a day, transforms everything it covers into sculptural wonders. In the process it smothers its host, robbing plants, bushes, and trees of sunlight and nourishment so that they eventually die. I am fascinated by something so beautiful yet so deadly, a botanical femme fatale. All my work is in some form of alternative process, has been for almost 20 years. This series is in tricolor gum bichromate, platinum, and cyanotype over platinum.

Summer Rain
I revel in the beauty of the physical world, in magical moments like this where rain droplets meld with a summer sunset. I try to capture that feeling through the gum bichromate process, which to me is the most artistically expressive alternative process there is because of its use of layers, textures, color, and the visible artist’s hand.

See more work in Christina Z. Anderson’s gallery or visit christinazanderson.com.

Christina Z. Anderson's books
The Experimental Darkroom: Contemporary Uses of Traditional Black & White Photographic Materials by Christina Z. Anderson

The Experimental Darkroom: Contemporary Uses of Traditional Black & White Photographic Materials

by Christina Z. Anderson

Learn about a variety of alternative photographic processes. A technical book highly recommended both for beginners and pros.
 

Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice

Gum Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual, Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice

by Christina Z Anderson

A step-by-step description of the gum printing process and showcases of artists’ works ranging from monochrome to colorful and from subtle to bold.
 

Salted Paper Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists

Salted Paper Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artists

by Christina Z. Anderson

The history and the process: from beginner to intermediate level, with step-by-step instructions and troubleshooting.
 

Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice

Cyanotype: The Blueprint in Contemporary Practice

by Christina Z Anderson

Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography
 

Digital Negatives with QuadToneRIP: Demystifying QTR for Photographers and Printmakers

Digital Negatives with QuadToneRIP: Demystifying QTR for Photographers and Printmakers

by Ron Reeder and Christina Z. Anderson

Fully explores how the QuadToneRIP printer driver can be used to make expert digital negatives.
 

1 thought on “Christina Z. Anderson and Tricolor gum bichromates”

  1. Hi, I am intrigued. I have a gum bichromate print in green, passion blue and black mounted with a latex letterpress mould. entitled ‘self portrait of MONUMENT’ signed To Christopher, merry xmas 1995 May this picture serve to remind you how much fun music can be love from Tim does this mean anything to anyone. I would love to find out

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