The Great Picture

Artist Jerry Burchfield (American, 1947 - 2016)

Artist Mark Chamberlain (American)

Artist Jacques Garnier

Artist Rob Johnson

Artist Douglas McCulloh

Artist Clayton Spada

Date2006

MediumPhotograph

DimensionsFramed: 30 x 51 in. (76.2 x 129.5 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineFound in collection

Object number2021.25.1

Label TextThis work is a smaller reproduction of The Great Picture, the largest photograph ever made. The Great Picture is a unique gelatin silver photographic image more than 31 feet high by 107 feet wide [9.58 x 32.74 meters] and was made using an abandoned fighter jet aircraft hangar in the El Toro Military Base in Irvine, CA (later made into The Great Park) transformed into a gigantic camera obscura—the world’s largest camera. In the spring and summer of 2006, six photographers—the Legacy Project collaborative—and hundreds of volunteers, artists, and experts spent thousands of hours transforming a Southern California military jet hanger into a gigantic camera. The aim was to make a single black and white photograph—by far the largest ever produced. Working in a military jet-hangar-as-camera, the group hand-applied 80 liters of gelatin silver halide emulsion to a seamless 3,375-square-foot canvas substrate custom-made in Germany for the project. Development required a custom Olympic pool-sized developing tray, ten high-volume submersible pumps, and 1,800 gallons of black and white chemistry. The Great Picture was completed in July 2006.

Status

Not on view