Darryl Baird

Postmortem: A Study in Decomposition

September 2 - November 3, 2011

The idea came about simply enough -- some tulips were kept past the usual timeframe we display flowers. The stems twisted and curled from drying, and then drooped downwards; I saw more potential for beauty in the 'dying' forms than from their pristine stage at the time of delivery. I began to think about flowers as metaphors for life's later stage of age and even death. I recalled photography has been used to preserve likeness through postmortem photographs. I've been influenced by Frederick Sommer, Emmet Gowin, and more recently by Sally Mann's dark and beautiful series" What Remains."

The initial concept for the series was also as an homage to a recently "dead film," Polaroid's Positive/Negative 55. I started with about 180 sheets of this film and began the series knowing it would end when I used up the remaining film stock. At this point the project is complete. I'm also using optics from a past era, mostly late 19th century, but also early (and a few from mid-) 20th century lenses. I don't think these images are dark or morbid, but instead a means to explore the inevitable end of all living things and a way to find beauty and solace through the process

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Darryl Baird is an Associate Professor of Art at University of Michigan-Flint. In addition to speaking about his own work, Baird has been invited to lecture on topics ranging from early photographic landscape aesthetics and the Picturesque to using digital negatives for alternative photographic processes. Baird’s work is included in the collections at The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Detroit Institute of Art and the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art, among others. His work has been exhibited all over the U.S. including at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California and John Cleary Gallery in Houston, Texas. https://darrylbaird.com/