Tarja Trygg
Aalto University School of Art & Design
Abstract
Solargraphy - Sunpath Pinhole Recording
In Solargraphs, the world reveals things to us we would normally not be able to see. The track of the sun across the sky changes according to the position of the observer in relation to geographical latitudes. How different are the movements of the Sun at various latitudes? The sky with the movements of the Sun is not sufficient: Landscapes or urban views in cities tell us about the context and the atmosphere as well. The research is a pragmatic, experimental and cooperative artistic work. The world has rapidly become digitalized and the Internet is a good tool for keeping in contact with participants from all around the world. The simplest pinhole cameras can record the paths of the Sun all over the world. Mapping out the sun from different latitudes can be shown on the Solargraphy Gallery. Solargraphy allows us to see the phenomena of nature and makes the invisible visible. When the pinhole camera has been loaded, a piece of b&w photo paper is set to face the Sun for an extremely long exposure, even up to half a year; the tracks will be visible through heat and sunlight without using any chemicals, and the final images are produced in colour.
Biographical Details
Tarja Trygg is a Finnish artist. She works in Helsinki as a senior lecturer in the Aalto University, School of Art & Design, at the Department of Art. She is writing her doctoral thesis on Solargraphy including the global pinhole art project of Solargraphy on the Net.
Tarja Trygg´s licentiate thesis was entitled Valokuvan Lumo (The Fascination of A Photograph). In the pragmatist frame of reference — Art As Experience; (1999). Her main interest on how to transform invisible into visible in photography continues nowadays through her doctoral studies. She has had exhibitions since 2005 in Helsinki, Wellington NZ, Kyoto, Tokyo and Hong Kong. She has published Solargraphy – The art of catching the sun’s path through a pinhole camera (2008); The Ambiguity of A Picture — The Fascination Of A Photograph, Working Papers, University of Art and Design, Helsinki UIAH F 19; Pragmatist Viewpoints on Art: Proceedings of the AWE Symposium in Helsinki, June 2000;
Opaskirja kouluille ja harrastajille (Tell It with Photographs. A Guide Book for Schools and Enthusiasts), WSOY. Porvoo, 1984.