New collages. Or, why I make art: a case study.

Try as I might, I just can’t seem to stay away from collage in some form or another. Last week I began pushing my work with the intaglio process a bit, and decided to experiment with some of the intermittent steps between making the plate and producing a final print. I ran prints (and subsequent ghost prints) of the plate immediately after wiping on a thick, juicy layer of ink, rather than wiping it all off as per usual. I discovered that this generated an interesting narrative around the notion of concealing and then slowly revealing the photograph. Seeing the resulting prints compelled me to make several more attempts at it using different colors.

I was looking at the prints the next day, which happened to be the eve of my first year review, and decided that something needed to be done with them. There was something inexplicably beautiful going on, and I couldn’t think about anything else until I had some sense of resolution with what was in front of me (believe me, I tried). I dropped everything I was doing (finishing my book project in preparation for the review) and without thinking started cutting. Then the glue came out. Before I knew it, I had five different collages made from the same photograph.

The whole experience was nothing short of a revelation. All the theory I’ve been reading, not to mention endlessly defending my work to others, had gotten in the way of my art making. The second I stopped thinking about it and trusted my intuition again, something wonderful happened.

They still have a long way to go, and I really don’t know where to go from here. But I’m on to something. I think.

One step closer to a breakthrough

I’ve been thinking a lot about this line drawing idea, and while it sounded like a good idea in the beginning, it’s becoming more and more difficult to justify conceptually. But I’m not ready to give up it yet.

After a rather informative critique with Liz Cohen, I’ve been considering why I should even bother with the intaglio process. Well, that’s lead me to the notion of using printmaking to act as an architect of these liminal spaces. I’m not quite there yet, but I feel it coming. And it feels good.

Here are a couple variations that I’ve been working on while attempting to negotiate the concept of this project.

Nailed it.

I had a “eureka” moment last night, at which point I discovered a plate-making workflow that produces a nearly perfect match with my digital files. I’m now officially done worrying about the technical side of the project and can finally shift my attention to the production of work. It’s a very good feeling.

Progress with the book project

In light of my desire to encourage more transparency among artists in their practice, I thought I’d post a few scans of some intaglio proof prints from the book project. Sadly, the scans don’t quite do the prints justice; you’ll have to believe me when I say they’re pretty cool in person.

Briefly stated, the project will consist of three books containing 18 prints each.  I will be making editions of 15 or 20 and selling them here on my blog.  I am working with 18 different photographs, which will be combined with line drawings based on the photographs, among other things.

The presensitized zinc plates I’m working with have an extremely short (two stops) tonal range, which has resulted in a lot of money and time wasted, not to mention frustration.  I’m finally starting to become aware of the limitations of the process, and I’ve learned to embrace them.  I’m beginning to push the contrasty, pictorialist aesthetic, and have become fascinated with the historical reference that comes along with it.  The line drawings, when juxtaposed with the photographs, are creating a rather unexpected narrative: one that I haven’t quite figured out yet.  It remains to be seen how this new narrative interacts with my original conceptual intent (statement coming soon), but there’s a lot of potential here.  Needless to say I’m extremely excited about the possibilities.

Climbing the learning curve

I thought I’d post some of the trials and tribulations from my countless hours in the printmaking lab fighting with these presensitized zinc plates. It’s been an uphill battle, to be sure, but I think I’m starting to get things figured out.

I’ve been writing/thinking/sketching a lot in preparation for this book project, and suffice it to say I’m extremely excited about it. More on that later.

Eureka – new work

I feel like I’ve reached a new level in terms of how and what I photograph.

Having said that, I thought I’d post a few more images I’ve been working on lately. I will be making intaglio contact prints of them which will be bound into a series of 3 small books (roughly 20-25 prints in each).

I haven’t completely nailed down where I’m going conceptually with this body of work yet, but I have a pretty good idea. It will suffice to say that I’m very excited about it. More on that later.

Work in progress – a taste.

N 32.22195, W 110.86723. January 2, 2010.

I’ve been working my way through the last couple boxes of Polaroid Type 55 film, and I’m really happy with the resulting images. Here’s one of them; the rest will be posted once I finish scanning them.

New images

I thought I’d post a few new images that I’ve been working on down here in Tucson. I was somewhat reluctant to make them public without some sort of explanation, but my desire for feedback has overshadowed said reluctance. So I have decided to compromise and precede them with a brief explanation.

The prints are 30″ in the longest dimension, and range from 21″ to 24″ in the other. They are cyanotypes toned in tannic acid, varnished, and tiled together to make the whole image. I’m attempting to take a more meditative approach to capturing scenes that are often overlooked. I want to encourage a slow, intimate dialog between the audience and these spaces through the labor-intensive process of creating the collages. The images were broken up into pieces to provide a more interactive experience for the viewer.

A couple new images

I had some this last weekend fun with my latest acquisition, a Deardorff 5×7. I slapped a 4×5 back on it and cracked open a box of Polaroid Type 55. Here are a couple scans of the negatives.

Update – I should also mention that the bottom image was cropped in-camera, which allowed me to make two exposures on one sheet of film. I’m playing with a few ideas along these lines; this was the first attempt.

The Great Experiment, part 3

Here’s the latest installment of this wonderful little experiment. The black & white image was taken with the 8×10, but I cheated a bit with the color and used my DSLR because I didn’t want to wait for the color film to be processed. I included the black border to simulate the 4×5 full frame, which is what I’d like to stick with.

I’m playing around with different focal lengths/perspective/angles and offsetting objects. The repetition of the concrete blob in the bottom image is successful to me, but I’m not so sure about the house in the middle. I think I need to push the offsetting a bit more.

I think I’d like to actually enter the spaces to capture the color images next time, rather than photographing from the same spot…