Page 72 - AC-1-2

Arts & Communication

ARTICLE
Creativity and cyanotype: Exploring camera-less

photography as an alternative for art education

Anubis Mendez and Ricardo Lopez-Leon *
1
2
1 Arts and Culture Center, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
2 Design Sciences Center, Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract

This article presents the results of several workshops developed as a Master of Arts
dissertation project from the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes in Mexico.
The project explored cyanotype, a different photographic printing technique that
diverges from chemical photography, and the possibilities of incorporating it in
art education programs. The workshops aimed to introduce emerging artists to
cyanotype – a camera-less photography technique and a low-cost creative process
to explore visual expression. The emerging artists were exposed to the concept of
cyanotype in a series of 9-h workshops, in which they learned the theoretical and
technical fundamentals and some of the artworks of the leading artists who work
with this technique. The workshops also showcased cyanotype prints on traditional
and non-traditional surfaces. We also gathered, from a qualitative perspective, the
experiences of the participant artists, their impressions, and feedback. At the end of
the paper, we discuss the visual language of cyanotype and its process characteristics
that make this technique an excellent alternative for art education since it provides
*Corresponding author: creative engagement to the participants and requires little investment from the
Ricardo Lopez-Leon facilitators.
(ricardolopezleon@gmail.com)
Citation: Mendez A,
Lopez-Leon R, 2023, Creativity and Keywords: Creative process; Cyanotype; Visual expression; Visual literacy; Art education
cyanotype: Exploring camera-less
photography as an alternative for art
education. Arts & Communication,
1(2): 1453.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1453 1. Introduction: A Master of Arts dissertation workshop-project
Received: August 4, 2023 This paper outlines the creation and implementation of an innovative approach to art
Accepted: October 8, 2023 education using cyanotype, a camera-less photography technique, for the development
Published Online: November 7, 2023 of low-cost artistic projects. The paper commences by elucidating the theoretical
framework and design of the workshop. Subsequently, it delves into practical aspects,
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article detailing the workshop’s physical setup, the structural organization of the sessions,
distributed under the terms of the materials used for cyanotype prints, and feedback received from participants. Afterward,
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, we discuss some of the results and present four artworks printed on different surfaces
and reproduction in any medium, and the assembly process to showcase the final works in a local gallery. We gathered
provided the original work is several participant comments about their experiences with the cyanotype process. This
properly cited.
paper ends with a personal reflection on the project’s development, discussing the results
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with and the possibilities of cyanotype as a creative practice for art education.
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional The project is part of a Master of Arts dissertation from the Autonomous University
affiliations. of Aguascalientes, Mexico. In this project, we explored cyanotype as an alternative for

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1453