Published on the occasion of the exhibition Polaroid [Im]Possible. The WestLicht Collection at WestLicht. Schauplatz für Fotografie. The art of Polaroid - the first presentation of the fascinating range of materials and techniques of the legendary instant film.
While the world is currently evaporating into the digital realm, the anachronistic Polaroid image seems dominant in media and advertising. On the art market, the recent sale of the European part of Edwin Land's photo collection to the Vienna Photography Museum WestLicht proved the trend going back towards analogue photography. Since the 1960s, Land had supplied artists from Ansel Adams to Andy Warhol worldwide with the latest products from his empire. In return, 4400 works by 800 photographers found their way into the International Collection of the European branch near Frankfurt/Main. When the last instant photo film factory was rescued from demolition by Impossible in 2008, it was not only possible to resume the productions of instant films, but also to continue the founder's collectors' commitment.
The publication shows selected Polaroid masterpieces as well as new Impossible Instant Pictures by contemporary artists such as Stefanie Schneider and Nobuyoshi Araki.