The Apple App “Psychometry” opens with the creator’s darkroom printing notebook. We see her notations of F stops, burning and dodging instructions, and exposure times for a negative that she has printed of one of her complex and metaphorically rich images.
This is where the questions start and the user is ensnared in this fascinating, interactive experience about creation, biography, and oddly enough making art with analog film in a traditional darkroom.
Psychometry: “Divination of facts concerning an object or its owner through contact with or proximity to the object.” – as defined by Merriam Webster
Through this iPad application artist Carol Golemboski takes the user on an interactive tour of her creative process. The app, like her work, gives the user an experience filled with mystery, discovery and pathos. Through the iPad the viewer is allowed intimate access to the fascinations, motivations and mechanics that Golemboski uses to create her compelling black & white photographic imagery. The user is given generous access to her studio, darkroom and thought process in crafting her silver gelatin prints.
Psychometry gives the user a rich multimedia experience through text, still images and video. When taken as a whole, it provides a view into Golemboski’s artistic process that goes beyond simple documentation. The app functions as biography, portfolio, process and as a unique object of art.
Golemboski becomes a magician through her electronic application. Her images appear in all their many forms until complete. Layer after layer is revealed yet the mystery becomes more intriguing, leaving the user wanting more. Like the theme of her work Psychometry is another metaphor, an electronic onion for the user to discover a layer at a time. And like a good magician, Golemboski has shown us what is up her sleeve however we are still baffled and amazed as she makes complex and beautiful images out of odd and disparate parts.
Psychometry was selected as one of the twelve Outstanding Books of 2013 by the Independent Publisher Book Awards, winning the category of “Outstanding eBook Achievement.”