Sonia Sheridan fonds

Process: Color-in-Color I, II (3M)

Sonia Landy Sheridan explored the artistic possibilities of the C-in-C during a residency at 3M in 1970. The exhibition Software, organised by Jack Burnham during the same year at the Jewish Museum (New York, NY, U.S.), allowed Sheridan to introduce the photocopier to the general public (she collaborated on this initiative with Don Conlin and Douglas Dybvig). As a follow-up, Sheridan convinced the Art Institute to rent and eventually acquire a C-in-C on an instalment payment plan. The tool became a vital component of the Generative Systems course until 1972 (at which time 3M took the photocopier back). Sheridan and her students made full use of the copier’s functionalities, by, for example, drawing on the flexibility of its internal controls to increase the density of the colours and by using the machine in conjunction with other devices (Polaroid camera, video monitor, frequency generator, biofeedback system). In 1971, Douglas Dybvig of 3M initiated Sheridan on the prototype of the C-in-C II. Unlike the first C-in-C model, which was limited to a 1 = 1 reproduction of the original, the Color-in-Color II created large format prints from negatives and slides.

It was with this machine that Sheridan generated a series of composite images of the human body, including her Man-Scan, produced in collaboration with Keith Smith and exhibited at MOMA in 1974 (b). A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts allowed her to use the new Color-in-Color I and II in 1976 during a second residency at 3M, where she produced a book entitled Artist in the Science Lab (k).

Tool:
. Color-in-Color

Related process:
. Hybrid