Cutting the Card Quickly!

About the Art

Dye transfers are made by combining dyes in exact registration through three matrices onto a paper sheet coated with gelatin. Three separate negatives, using a red, green or blue filter, are created from the original object and then used to create three relief matrices that can be inked for multiple reproductions, using yellow, magenta or cyan dyes. Each color is applied separately, allowing the printer greater control of color balance and contrast.

Edgerton, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT, developed several devices related to electronic strobe light. Creating a stroboscope in 1931, he paired the device with a high-speed camera set to create an exposure at each strobe pulse, allowing for the study of high-speed events, such as projectile bullets or milk drop coronets.

FEATURED IMAGE
Dr. Harold Edgerton (American 1903–1990), Cutting the Card Quickly!, 1964, dye transfer print, #142 in edition of 150, sheet 16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm). Gift of the Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation, 1996.201.7