Graduation Weekend: May 17-19
Here is the most recent part of The Very Cavernous Series.
Pure cyan and gold metallic gradients.
Variations on G and Q.
Kozu paper
Sunday, May 11, 2008
FOLIO 2008
The Morgan Building at The University of Pennsylvania
Graduation Weekend: May 17-19
Here is the most recent part of The Very Cavernous Series.
Pure cyan and gold metallic gradients.
Variations on G and Q.
Kozu paper
Graduation Weekend: May 17-19
Here is the most recent part of The Very Cavernous Series.
Pure cyan and gold metallic gradients.
Variations on G and Q.
Kozu paper
Jaggard edges.
Cultures of the Book - ENGL 034 - "The Wheat Headpiece"
William Jaggard, a British printer, printed The First Folio of Comedies and Tragedies of William Shakespeare in 1623. Included in the prefatory material for the tome were several decorative woodblocks. One in particular was characterized by a bundle of wheat at the top center. Known only as "The Wheat Headpiece", this block had already suffered much damage before reaching the pages of Shakespeare's First Folio. It had been used in both secular and non-secular books and pamphlets in the preceding decades. The travels of the block can be traced by the size of the crack and the eventual complete cracking of the wheat bundle.
For this project, I re-created this design in Adobe Illustrator based on a series of photographs of the block. This design was then engraved into a type-high prepared maple block with a Universal Systems Carbon-Dioxide Laser Cutter. The design was then printed on a Vandercook letterpress over 400 times on vegetable parchment. The prints were bound into a 400-page hardcover book, in folio. The remaining prints were marked as a broadside series. Additionally, I printed a series of 25 on Japanese kozu paper to serve as handwriting stationary.
William Jaggard, a British printer, printed The First Folio of Comedies and Tragedies of William Shakespeare in 1623. Included in the prefatory material for the tome were several decorative woodblocks. One in particular was characterized by a bundle of wheat at the top center. Known only as "The Wheat Headpiece", this block had already suffered much damage before reaching the pages of Shakespeare's First Folio. It had been used in both secular and non-secular books and pamphlets in the preceding decades. The travels of the block can be traced by the size of the crack and the eventual complete cracking of the wheat bundle.
For this project, I re-created this design in Adobe Illustrator based on a series of photographs of the block. This design was then engraved into a type-high prepared maple block with a Universal Systems Carbon-Dioxide Laser Cutter. The design was then printed on a Vandercook letterpress over 400 times on vegetable parchment. The prints were bound into a 400-page hardcover book, in folio. The remaining prints were marked as a broadside series. Additionally, I printed a series of 25 on Japanese kozu paper to serve as handwriting stationary.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Those "In The Know"
Donald Kuspit visited The University of Pennsylvania for a lecture. This morning, we had an in-gallery critique with him.
SOME NOTES from my segment:
- These prints are abstract. You are using the letters as gesture.
- Attesting to the idea that abstract works aren't dead. A new kind of abstract.
- You are undergoing a dilemma. Do you go the industrial, commercial design route to support yourself, or go the other route into color, gesture, and pushing the ideas of modern abstraction?
- Scramble more. More 'word salad', for lack of a better term.
- The digital parts are so cheery, so upbeat. They don't square with the seriousness of the visual testing going on in the prints. They are a starting point. Don't try and return to them to 'finish' the study.
- There is a context, today, for this nostalgia, this re-interpolation of these techniques.
- These prints are abstract. You are using the letters as gesture.
- Attesting to the idea that abstract works aren't dead. A new kind of abstract.
- You are undergoing a dilemma. Do you go the industrial, commercial design route to support yourself, or go the other route into color, gesture, and pushing the ideas of modern abstraction?
- Scramble more. More 'word salad', for lack of a better term.
- The digital parts are so cheery, so upbeat. They don't square with the seriousness of the visual testing going on in the prints. They are a starting point. Don't try and return to them to 'finish' the study.
- There is a context, today, for this nostalgia, this re-interpolation of these techniques.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
cavernous.
After a really blissful week off (give or take) from the matrix of production, I was ready to revisit The Common Press and my characters. Thanks to a previously unnecessary 4' x 8' sheet of plywood, I now have a variety of bases upon which to adhere my large Everyman (Plex-Man) characters.
Last night, I decided to attempt to bend the Vandercook to my will (insert diabolical laughter?). As in, pull a series of large prints on the letterpress that show no resemblance to "traditional" letterpress prints, besides the fixed width dimension.
The first tan/gold/mustard one was the worst, but I needed to get it over with and out of my system, and then moved on.
I made an enormous mess. And also many gradients. I printed a few on nearly translucent kozu paper with a bed/tympan packed to the hilt. I cracked about 4 letters into pieces, and still can't wash the cyan out from under my fingernails.
I hoped for these to feel "cavernous."
Last night, I decided to attempt to bend the Vandercook to my will (insert diabolical laughter?). As in, pull a series of large prints on the letterpress that show no resemblance to "traditional" letterpress prints, besides the fixed width dimension.
The first tan/gold/mustard one was the worst, but I needed to get it over with and out of my system, and then moved on.
I made an enormous mess. And also many gradients. I printed a few on nearly translucent kozu paper with a bed/tympan packed to the hilt. I cracked about 4 letters into pieces, and still can't wash the cyan out from under my fingernails.
I hoped for these to feel "cavernous."
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
trivia for everyone.
This blue ink was/is really great. The scan is inferior. "Pure Hueset Blue" I think is what the canister said, and I can't tell if it is a royal blue or a wonky violet from instant to instant.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Type, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness
The University of Pennsylvania Fine Arts Class of 2008 Thesis Show opened without a hitch on Tuesday, March 25 in the Charles Addams Gallery. Friends, acquaintances, teachers and strangers from near and far filled the space. There were smiles, kind words, provoking questions all around.
My parents took these photos. A bit of documentation, as I was too flustered to remember most of the evening. High-quality photos of the thesis work will be posted soon on the thesis website. My portion was comprised of 3 sections:
a) A small wall with an assortment of small digital and letterpress prints
b) A short pedestal with the wood type.
c) A larger back wall with six of the large rice paper prints from the galley press.
For more photos, courtesy of Nick Sherman, check out his Flickr.
My parents took these photos. A bit of documentation, as I was too flustered to remember most of the evening. High-quality photos of the thesis work will be posted soon on the thesis website. My portion was comprised of 3 sections:
a) A small wall with an assortment of small digital and letterpress prints
b) A short pedestal with the wood type.
c) A larger back wall with six of the large rice paper prints from the galley press.
For more photos, courtesy of Nick Sherman, check out his Flickr.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
