You Make a Better Door Than a Window

You Make a Better Door Than a Window

(2019-present, palladium and cyanotype print, 4x5 inches 

In the series “You Make a Better Door than a Window,” Amy Sue Greenleaf explores the relationship between the opaque and translucent.  Behind the photograms of feathers and leaves are hints of opaque objects. These opaque objects such as tree bark and stones could not logically create a photogram.  A dialogue begins between the opaque and translucent objects and the objects start to take on each other’s properties. The translucent becomes more opaque and vice versa bringing harmony to their discord.  This idea of a transfer of properties can happen in everyday life. Loss can make us realize how much we have gained or death can make us learn how to live.  

The photographic processes chosen mimic the dichotomy of the objects. The complex and precious palladium print blends with the simple and bold cyanotype. The opaque objects are photographed using a 4x5 large format camera. The 4x5 negatives are then printed in the palladium process. A cyanotype photogram of a translucent object is then printed on top of the palladium print. The final prints are 4x5 inches.