Cameraless Photography

Name: Ragnar Digital, LLC
Price range: $

Desmond Paul Henry

1979

Oscilloscope/Light Photo

10.5"x8.5"

NotAComputer

Description

Desmond Paul Henry began experimenting with what he would later describe as cameraless photography in the 1940s, after his father, Joseph, brought photosensitive paper home from his job at a Kodak factory. Three decades later, following extensive exploration of other technological and mechanical techniques, Henry returned to the process and developed it further as part of his artistic practice.

Henry would expose the same light-sensitive paper used in photographic darkrooms to bright light while placing objects directly on its surface. Areas shielded from light remained pale, while uncovered sections became overexposed and darkened, producing ghostly white silhouettes of the objects. He then applied photographic chemicals to fix the image, but often did so unevenly, dribbling or splashing the chemicals across the surface. This partial fixing caused some areas to stabilize while others continued to darken or fade when re-exposed to light, introducing chance effects alongside deliberate compositional control.

While the unnumbered work from 1977 is highly abstract, a human figure clearly emerges in #109. Despite their formal differences, both works are rich in detail and compositional structure, demonstrating Henry’s attentive and methodical approach to image-making.

Although these works were not produced through computational processes, they nonetheless underscore the breadth and experimental rigor of Henry’s practice, and his sustained engagement with technological materials as sites of artistic inquiry.

Untitled from Drawing Machine Two (b&w) Desmond Paul Henry 1964 Machine/Robot Drawing

Cameraless Photography #109 Desmond Paul Henry 1977 Oscilloscope/Light Photo

Untitled from Drawing Machine Three Desmond Paul Henry 1967 Machine/Robot Drawing

"Ideographs" Exhibition Brochure Desmond Paul Henry 1962 Ephemera

Reid Gallery Invitation (One Man Show) Desmond Paul Henry 1962 Ephemera

The Logic of Saint Anslem Desmond Paul Henry 1963 Machine/Robot Drawing

Untitled from Drawing Machine Two Desmond Paul Henry 1963 Machine/Robot Drawing

Untitled from Drawing Machine One Desmond Paul Henry 1961 Machine/Robot Drawing