Artful Invention

Clifford Ross takes pictures with a remarkable camera—one that he invented—which yields the highest-resolution, single-shot chromogenic photographs the world has ever seen. It’s called the R1, and it’s a large- format view camera that uses military aerial film.

Working under the auspices of National Geographic and the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development, Cliff is using this camera to record for posterity the vast, undisturbed wetlands ecosystem of Brazil’s famed Pantanal. He’s also working on the next camera, the R2, which includes the 100-megapixel “i2 Cyclorama”, which will yield the world’s largest continuous unsegmented image display.

Cliff’s work has been exhibited and collected widely at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Sammlung Essl, Vienna; and Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon. His recently published book of photographs, Wave Music (Aperture 2005), includes an essay by philosopher Arthur Danto and an interview by novelist A.M. Homes. He is also the author of books on abstract expressionism and Edward Gorey and two screenplays. He produced the animated television series and feature films based on the classic children’s character Babar the Elephant.

www.cliffordross.com