Swedish artist Sanna Dullaway dropped some of her latest work on the Internet recently and responses have been all over the map. Dullaway’s recolorization process sees her take iconic black and white photos [Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Anne Frank] and sprinkle rainbow dust all over them. [The actual process is a little more complex than that. For a taste, check out this YouTube video demonstrating the recolorization of the classic ‘The American Way’ photo. And then take a closer look at Dullaway’s work in the gallery above]
There’s no shortage of opinions on the transformations. I’ve heard everything from “brilliant” to “blasphemy.” The latter seems a bit harsh. At worst these can be regarded as a vain attempt to improve upon classics, sort of like remaking Total Recall. Are the colorized versions are “superior” to the originals? That’s always come down to personal taste. And where that’s concerned, well, who doesn’t find their breath short when the orange flames and robes explode from the screen in the Burning Monk shot? And that cool blue of the car, invoking the water we all so desperately want to douse on the man? That’s a worthy artistic exploration in my book.
It’s really pretty incredible. Kudos to her for such a huge undertaking.
It’s a cool idea. It sort of reminds me of Musicians sampling old music to make something new.
It’s obvious this work was done by an artist. Should the pictures have been butchered I’d have reason to complain.
I don’t think Sanna’s work is blasphemous at all. While I may still prefer the black and white versions of some of these photos, the added colors and tones actually enhance my appreciation of the other photos’ nuances and details. And the Burning Monk shot is a great example of how the emotional impact of the photo has been deepened through the addition of color. Sanna’s work takes nothing away from the original artistry of these photographs – I think that it only helps viewers appreciate the original photographs more, especially when a viewer takes the time to compare the versions and reflect on them.
Haha color Abe, I lol’d as soon as I saw this…