World's Largest Photograph

    Imagine a photograph so big, its creators have trouble thinking of places large enough to display it.  Imagine three stories high by eleven stories wide.  Imagine a 1200 pound picture.
    A group of six photographers known as “The Legacy Project,” along with 400+ volunteers, artists and experts, have created the world’s largest photograph, titled The Great Picture.  The image, which was developed July 8, 2006, will have its premier exhibition September 6 through 29, 2007 at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
   Photographers Jerry Burchfield, Mark Chamberlain, Jacques Garnier, Rob Johnson, Douglas McCulloh, and Clayton Spada turned an F-18 jet aircraft hanger into a huge camera obscura, using 24,000 square feet of black plastic, 1300 gallons of foam gap filler, 1.52 miles of black tape and 40 cans of black spray paint to light proof the hangar. 
    To process the seamless muslin, special ordered from Germany, that they hand treated with 80 liters of gelatin silver halide emulsion, they constructed a gigantic tray made of the type of plastic used to line swimming pools.  Developing took 5 hours to coordinate and 1800 gallons of black and white chemistry.  “It was something like a cross between Ansel Adams’ darkroom and Dante’s Inferno,” said Burchfield.   

(pictured is the final image)

    Through many tests of aperture sizes and exposure times (McCulloh said they used test strips “the size of doors”), the artists decided upon an aperture of 6mm and an exposure time of 35 minutes.
    “Everything came down to a 35 minute exposure,” said Burchfield.  “We had one shot to make it work, and if it didn’t work, everything was lost.  There was something very scary and very exciting about that prospect.”
    The group had access to the hangar for a limited time, so they had to test for all kinds of weather.  Once they set a date, there was no turning back.  Regardless of the weather, they would go ahead.  Luckily, they had a beautiful sunny day.
    The picture serves several purposes.  Yes, it is the world’s largest photo, and was made by the world’s biggest camera.  And, yes, it is part of The Legacy Project’s 15-year project of documenting the transformation of Southern California’s Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into Orange County Great Park.  But, it also “references the origins of the medium,” said Burchfield
    “To me, aside from just being the biggest photo ever made, it is important because it is a black and white film image,” said McCulloh.  “It is a final marker at the border crossing between 168 years of film based photography and moving into pixels.  It has significance beyond size.  It has significance as a final statement.”  (shown above is the canvas being raised for the first time)
—Marnie Soman
Editorial Intern

Comments

[Duane Toole]

The famous photo by Mason Williams, a full-sized Greyhound bus, pales in comparison for sheer size. But Williams' photo was actually published in a fold-out book. I expect that photo still holds the record for the largest published photograph.

[shenae]

artists never fail to push the limits of the art world.