photogram

American  

[foh-tuh-gram] / ˈfoʊ təˌgræm /

noun

1. a silhouette photograph made by placing an object directly on sensitized paper and exposing it to light.

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photogram British  

/ ˈfəʊtəˌɡræm /

noun

1. a picture, usually abstract, produced on a photographic material without the use of a camera, as by placing an object on the material and exposing to light

2. obsolete a photograph, often of the more artistic kind rather than a mechanical record

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Etymology

Origin of photogram

First recorded in 1855–60; photo- + -gram ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

photogram

She was old and infirm and had retired to a house in Provence by the time she went back to photography, adding floral photogram borders to her early portraits of Surrealist friends and peers.

From The New Yorker ● May 21, 2019

The photogram was a technique favoured by surrealists like Man Ray, who made abstract compositions by simply placing objects on light-sensitive paper.

From Economist ● Sep. 27, 2017

“I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was looking at a ghost,” Melvin West, 24, said as he searched for items to produce his own photogram.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2016

In a photogram, the conventional photographic distance between subject and image is likewise collapsed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2015

There were no windows, so to give an illusion of light and space one wall was covered in a huge photogram showing a tropical beach, with bright blue sky and white sand and coconut palms.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

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