Week 20 - 2020
Polaroid Swinger Modell 20, 1965. Belongs to the Preus Museum’s Collection. Photo: Helle K. Hagen AS
Almost alive
When you just want to “swing” about at a party or at the beach with your friends, take pictures of each other and share them instantly. This is not so simple right now, and neither was it 55 years ago, when this camera was introduced - although due to other reasons.
In 1965 one would normally photograph on film. The film had to be taken out of the camera to be sent off to a photo lab, before you’d receive your images in the post a week later. Erwin Land introduced the first Polaroid-camera in 1948. It was quite a heavy thing that produced sepia-toned images within one minute. A few more years would pass until Polaroid would attract a much larger portion of the mass-market, and it happened with the introduction of this chic plastic camera. It was made to suit a whole different group of consumers: teenage baby boomers with new needs.
The Swinger demonstrated Polaroid’s concern with aesthetic qualities and design. The white plastic camera, with its red and black details and big black plastic strap (enabling it to swing playfully around the wrist) exists in many collections around the world. The camera was made to suit a «whole new generation»; it was cheap to buy and easy to use:
You looked into the viewfinder, turned the red knot and clicked the release when you saw the word YES appear. Then, after 15 seconds, you pulled out the black and white picture. The camera sold as fast as it developed its pictures, seven million models in five years.
The commercial jingle exclaimed: «It's more than a camera, it's almost alive, it's only nineteen dollars and ninety-five». In addition, the name «Swinger» signified another secret connotation, which most likely flew by unnoticed by the parental generation. Because these immediate photos didn’t involve any photo labs, it opened up possibilities for more intimate photos, something Polaroid was well aware of when they introduced their most popular camera of all time.