Photogram

One of the earliest forms of photography, a photogram is a photograph produced without a camera, typically by placing an object directly onto a light-sensitive surface and exposing it to light. The resulting image often features outlines and forms of whatever object it reproduces. Nineteenth-century practitioners valued the process for its ability to render intricate details of scientific specimens. Throughout the 20th century and into the present, artists have used the process to render common objects strange, or to produce abstract imagery.