“The iPod of its day”

Author Phil Patton chimes in on the death of Polaroid’s instant film and how that might impact on the art world. [DesignInfo]

The appeal was not only in the magic of colors materializing on the film’s shiny white face but in the process of taking the pictures. The wonderful way the camera unfolded for action was a key part of the Polaroid experience: the way it snapped upright and revealed its rubber bellows inside a metal frame; the urgent grinding, motorized sound the camera made as it ejected a shot; and the final snapping shut of the little door through which pictures were emitted. In truth, it was hard to get a good picture with a Polaroid. Put aside your digital for a day and go back to an SX-70, and you’ll realize how much film you once wasted at a dollar or more a shot.