Thinking about Tom Consilvio

Thinking about Tom Consilvio

July 17, 2015 Studio 4

Consilvio Book

As I’ve been scanning the 100 images that make up the Security Envelope series, I started to think about the man who printed almost all of them – Tom Consilvio of SilverLab who died in 1991. Tom was well known as the printer who took on the task of proofing the thousands of rolls of film left behind by Garry WInogrand and was the primary printer of his work. It’s amusing to consider that at the same time he was printing my crazy photographs of xeroxes of the interiors of bank envelopes and arguing with me about the tone of the white, he was printing images like Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry, New York.

Googling, I was happy to find a copy of Snapshooters, was glad to see it and bought myself a copy.

About the author

Cindy Bernard:

4 Comments

  1. Don

    September 21, 2018
    Reply

    I have that book. I worked for Tom until he passed in '91. I learned much from him and met so many wonderful and interesting people. He was a good man and it was a good time. I'm still in shock...

  2. Jim Britt

    March 12, 2019
    Reply

    Tom was a good friend of mine and he taught me how to build a fantastic darkroom sink. I printed all of my work so he and I would share our processes. He did work with me on my "Sisters" project which never was published but one of the photos of the girls laughing with braces has become iconic. We had the wake for him in my big studio in the Helms Bakery. I still miss him and was shocked and hurt when he died.

  3. Jim Herrington

    January 16, 2021
    Reply

    In the 1980s I worked for Tom at Silver Lab. Several times I went with him to Winogrand's widow's house (Eileen?) to pick up another big load of film that Garry had shot and never processed. They were kept in Eileen's refrigerator. I processed and proofed many of those rolls myself, hundreds of them I'd estimate. I remember answering the phone on at least one occasion when John Szarkowski would call. Very sad when Tom checked out.

  4. Glenn Bray

    August 25, 2021
    Reply

    Tom printed over 100 16" X 20" exhibition prints for our La Luz de Jesus exhibition (1989) for artist-sculptor Stanislav Szukalski. We had Szukalski's original glass negatives from circa 1913-1920's, and Tom made the most beautiful copies from them.
    Presently a museum in Poland will be exhibiting most of these and I want to make sure he is given proper credit. If anyone can add more to his story, I'd like to be contacted.

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