Call Number:

063

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

1 linear feet (1 box; ca. 152 print photographs, research notes, cd-r and dvd)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Collection or item title, Othmer Library of Chemical History, Science History Institute..

Date:

1994-2012 (inclusive)

Creator:

Alcott, Robert B.

Form:

Photographs, Photograph collections, and Archival materials

Abstract:

Photographs, digital photographs and notes on Alcott's work as a "crystallographer", making art pieces by exposing chemical compounds to light to make flat crystalline structures.

Robert B. Alcott, a former documentary cinematographer and editor, produced these pieces after seven years of trial and error. Alcott mixed various chemical compounds onto glass slides and using a large format camera and polarized light he photographed the crystalline result, creating multicolor abstract artworks. He tried chemicals from a local hobby shop as well as honey, wine and other organic substances, none of which produced the results he was after. Through a serendipitous communication he acquired multiple compounds through GFS Chemicals in Powell, Ohio. After conducting more technical tests to achieve the product he was after, he eventually created the pieces in the collection.

Collection consists of twenty 11x14 inch prints of Alcott's work, a notebook, loose notes documenting his process, a CD and DVD with digital images of the artwork. The notebook dates from 1994-1995 and includes details on various compounds Alcott experimented with to make his creations. Three 4x6 inch photo albums detail art exhibits containing his work and a printed copy of the contents of his website (which is no longer online) are also included. Eighteen of the 11x14 prints hang in the gallery of Science History Institute, and have been there since their accession in 2008.