Source: Facebook
Elsa Dorfman used a 200-pound Polaroid camera to create prints that were two feet high. It was her favorite approach to being a photographer. She gained a lease to use one of the cameras from Polaroid and made art for many years. She created a studio specifically for capturing these images. Her purposes were to try to capture as realistic of an image of subjects that she could. She was allowed to continue to use the large camera even after Polaroid shut down due to financial reasons.
One of her inspirations was to make sure that the subjects present the image that they see in their minds. She viewed cameras as instruments that can help subjects play the right notes.
She graduated with a degree in French literature form Tufts University, and moved to New York to pursue her creative ambitions.
Her works have been critiqued by many over the last 30 years. Many asking the question, is what she creating art? Or is it simply large images? I believe that Dorfman’s works were and still are pieces of art. She did not just ask for subjects to stand in front of the camera and take a quick snapshot. There was a creative process behind each image she created. She tried her best to capture subjects as they are naturally, but with a touch of warmth and sincerity. The fact that each image was 2 feet made it all the more unique, and easier for observers to view the types of expressions she aimed to capture. The part of her creative process that I like the most is that she used an innovation of contemporary technology and was able to demonstrate aesthetics from a small screen to a large canvas.
Unfortunately, Dorfman passed away on May 30 (2020) at 83 years old due to complications of kidney failure.
The photographic work that she has left behind can be a significant paradigm for other contemporary photographers, especially those using unique forms of technology.