Vivify a Drab Wall with Magnetic Primer and Instant Film

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By Matt Richardson
Posted 2011/05/18 @ 4:00 am
Category Photography & Video

Last weekend I had the chance to visit the new office space of M Booth, a public relations agency in New York City. To decorate an otherwise drab wall, they magnetized it and covered it Polaroid-style instant photo prints, attaching each photo to the wall with a rare earth magnet. In order to get these strong magnets to stick to the wall, they painted it with four coats of magnetic primer and then painted over it again with wrought iron colored paint. M Booth staffers went out into the streets with Fujifilm Instax 210 cameras and returned with about 800 photos of life from around the city. They then painstakingly sorted through and attached the prints to the wall in neat rows. It’s quite a nice collection of photography and makes for an interesting conversation piece in the office.

In the Maker Shed

18 Responses to Vivify a Drab Wall with Magnetic Primer and Instant Film

Andrew Hanlon on May 18th, 2011 at 11:14 am said:

I hadn’t heard of magnetic primer before. Can it be used as a pseudo ferro fluid when wet? Would be awesome if you could let it dry while applying a magnetic field. Imagine a permanent surface like : http://www.dansdata.com/images/magnets/bigspikes440.jpg

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- Luke Brooks on May 18th, 2011 at 4:07 pm said:
  
  @google-199b61bbce1b15aaf01d358c68e84b89:disqus you and people like you are what makes make awesome! Great idea I hope some one tries this soon.
  
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- JamesB on May 18th, 2011 at 8:21 pm said:
  
  Interesting idea. I’ll bet some iron filings mixed with quick dry epoxy, or CA/superglue, would set up.
  
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- JamesB on May 18th, 2011 at 8:21 pm said:
  
  Interesting idea. I’ll bet some iron filings mixed with quick dry epoxy, or CA/superglue, would set up.
  
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- JamesB on May 18th, 2011 at 8:21 pm said:
  
  Interesting idea. I’ll bet some iron filings mixed with quick dry epoxy, or CA/superglue, would set up.
  
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- JamesB on May 18th, 2011 at 8:21 pm said:
  
  Interesting idea. I’ll bet some iron filings mixed with quick dry epoxy, or CA/superglue, would set up.
  
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Timothy Gray on May 18th, 2011 at 12:05 pm said:

Same thing can be done without several hundred dollars in rare instamatic film. Digital cameras and a quick run to costco to have it done cheaper and the prints will last far FAR longer.

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- DasKreestof livejournal on May 18th, 2011 at 3:41 pm said:
  
  If you look closely, you’ll see that they didn’t use rare instamatic film. Instead they used currently available and in production FujiFilm Instax film. You’re correct that they could have done the same thing with digital cameras, printers, scissors and time. I’m sure they did it this way for “Polaroid Nostalgia”
  
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Fritz Schneider on May 18th, 2011 at 10:07 pm said:

This is so weird… it’s like when chef’s are
making chicken pot pie and they tell you you need REAL saffron picked by
nuns at three times the price of pure heroin… I usually like artsy
stuff and design stuff… but when I see people wasting
huge sums of money (and screwing with the environment) to create
something, I have to ask WTF? So here ya go: 2 gallons semi-gloss
Olympic Zero Voc paint, battleship grey, 1/2 inch nap roller. 2 rolls of
1/2 inch 3m (30% post consumer waste) MASKING tape to stick the photos
to the wall… Voila, save the planet, save some cash.

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Anonymous on May 19th, 2011 at 8:48 am said:

Judging by the number of pins I can see holding up pictures, the magnetic primer is not really up to the job. Or did they run out of magnets?

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- Matt Richardson on May 19th, 2011 at 2:21 pm said:
  
  I’m not sure what you’re seeing, but there were no pins, only magnets. And they worked pretty well.
  
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- Matt Richardson on May 19th, 2011 at 2:21 pm said:
  
  I’m not sure what you’re seeing, but there were no pins, only magnets. And they worked pretty well.
  
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Anonymous on May 19th, 2011 at 8:48 am said:

Judging by the number of pins I can see holding up pictures, the magnetic primer is not really up to the job. Or did they run out of magnets?

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Anonymous on May 19th, 2011 at 8:48 am said:

Judging by the number of pins I can see holding up pictures, the magnetic primer is not really up to the job. Or did they run out of magnets?

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Mike Prevette on May 22nd, 2011 at 3:55 pm said:

Umm, covering the wall in sheet metal would have been WAY cheaper, Less work, look cooler, and give greater magnetic hold, not to mention be more environmentally sound. fail.

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- Matt Richardson on June 6th, 2011 at 11:53 am said:
  
  I wouldn’t be so dismissive of this method. After all, it’s in your opinion that it would look cooler with sheet metal. I disagree. Not only that, but you don’t back up your claim that it would be better for the environment to cover the wall in sheet metal, so I’m skeptical about that.
  
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- Matt Richardson on June 6th, 2011 at 11:53 am said:
  
  I wouldn’t be so dismissive of this method. After all, it’s in your opinion that it would look cooler with sheet metal. I disagree. Not only that, but you don’t back up your claim that it would be better for the environment to cover the wall in sheet metal, so I’m skeptical about that.
  
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kombizz on May 27th, 2011 at 5:24 am said:

It is a nice finding. Now, I know how to fill the empty spaces on my bedrooom wall. Thank you for sharing.

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