Perhaps this day in May, Friday the 13th, provided a mystical atmosphere for the opening of the new Portrait Society Gallery exhibition “More than Real: The Death of Kodachrome.” Beginning at 6:00 p.m. that evening the 5th floor in the Historic Third Ward's Marshall Building flooded with people to celebrate a bygone photographic era similar to a wake. A t-shirt pinned to Gallery B's door from the last photo shop to develop Kodachrome summarized the sentiment:
Paul sang a song about it. [Paul Simon]
A state park was named after it.
National Geographic shot its most famous photos on it.
And we developed the last roll.
Dwayne's Photo December 30, 2010.
The small town of Parsons, Kansas is home to Dwayne's Photo, an independent and family business where owner Dwayne Steinle developed the last Kodachrome film roll. The film photographers previously considered their preferential choice was invented by two scholarly musicians, Leopold Godowsky, Jr. and Leopold Mannes, in 1935 and remained in production for over 70 years.
Brilliant color quality, color separation and sharpness and possibly the most archival film ever developed defined Kodachrome's characteristics that photographers found irreplaceable. Then excessive chemical costs and the lengthy processing times brought on the demise of the most widely mass produced film to date. Eventually, Eastman Kodak announced in June 2009 there would be one last year remaining to process any remaining Kodachrome, and a slow death for the premiere color film evolved over the following months.
The Portrait Society Gallery features three small exhibitions in homage to Kodachrome through July 10. Gallery A presents “Casa Happiness,” a photographic collection of Judy and Martin Drinka's Cuban honeymoon in 1957 compiled as a project by Julia Taylor. The couple appeared at the opening, still married after 50 years. Gallery B features “Pilgrimage to Parsons, Kansas” and photographer Erik Ljung's journey to process his last rolls of Kodachrome. Surrounded by his final Kodachrome pictures that evening, he answered questions about traveling to Parsons, Kansas. The Lounge offers “Flowers by Livia” in a tribute to a lone Milwaukee woman and her interest in flower design discovered on slides stashed in a basement by James Brozek. He spoke about the women only known through her personal photos that she left behind and no one claimed. Each gallery exhibition portrays a distinctive perspective on Kodachrome.
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An extra exhibition displayed in the hallway proved to be equally engaging with the title: “This is What Democracy Looks Like.” The photographic portrait project by Kevin J. Miyazaki caught the protesters outside Wisconsin's capitol during February and March 2011 on film.
Persons of all ages dressed in winter gear held posters during the frigid weather that read: “Send in the clowns and look what we got” or 'Walker Gave Up Democracy for Lent.” One small boy resembling the literary Oliver Twist, and just as photogenic, carried a sign saying, “Please, sir, may I have an education?”
The impromptu exhibit reiterated the portrait's significance in capturing that fleeting second, a specific moment in time, and the individuals who were present at these events spontaneously unfolding over several weeks in Madison and making their own history. Although these 2011 photographs missed the Kodachrome era, the portrait tradition might endure for another century.
Visit the Portrait Gallery Society in the Marshall Building on the fifth floor for the exhibition "More than Real: The Death of Kodachrome" through July 10.
