My final Part 6 prints, using Rae’s techniques of wiped, gestural marks printed in layers, feel much more my own. They have rich detail in the interaction of the wiped colours but are very simple in design. They appear abstract in their design, but, like all abstracts, they are firmly rooted in real experience. The Tate defines abstract as ‘to separate or withdraw something from something else’ but that the term is ‘applied to art that is based an object, figure or landscape, where forms have been simplified or schematised’ (Tate, s.d.). Prunella Clough, whose prints I greatly admire, said, ‘I never painted an abstract painting in my life’, (Spalding, 2012). Her work was based on minute observation of everyday objects, a scouring pad or the garden gate, rarely recognisable in the final work.
My Assignment 6 prints are a representation of a real visual phenomena in which designs are seen within the brain and which have not originated in the eye, induced by psychotropic substance, trance inducing dance, exposure to extremes of light or dark or other mechanisms. I experienced them when sitting in absolute dark whilst caving. I have simplified whilst aiming to capture the essence of bright flashing, coloured light, just as Sonia Delaunay tried to do in her apparently abstract ‘Electric Prisms‘ series from 1913 onwards, inspired by the newly introduced electric lighting of Paris (Indianapolis Museum of Art, s.d.).
The prints work individually but combine as good series. I would present them matted up together in a single frame.
The primary prints have a rich presence whilst the three ghost prints have a soft, luminous delicacy.
In Part 6, I have tried to use aspects of what I have learnt from looking at Rae’s work. My initial response of considering the neolithic monuments in the landscape was too simplistic and derivative, but I have learnt about creating depth in a print by adding layers which relate to each other. By combining layering with gestural mark making I have produced a set of prints which have depth, physical presence and move beyond the run-of-the mill landscape.
I have also learnt from Rae to be less precious about my prints. If the image can be improved by sticking some pastel or oilstick on there, then I should do it. The purist printmaker in me wants to achieve the best possible image through printmaking but the process should be subservient to the image. Rae also is not afraid to tear off the margins of a print, if cropping in or loosing a bit of off-registration serves her purpose better, or, indeed, her commercial interests.
Like Delaunay, I can see myself returning repeatedly to this subject, exploring it on different scales and in different ways, for instance a series of layered etchings. I would certainly like to work larger, perhaps using the larger scale resources of an open press. It would also be interesting to explore more transparent layers and more densely constructed compositions.
References
Delaunay, S. (1913) Electric Prisms [Gouache on board] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/sonia-delaunay/ey-exhibition-sonia-delaunay-room-guide/ey-1
Indianapolis Museum of Art (s.d.) Light Study, Electric Prisms, Gallery Label [online] Indianapolis Museum of Art Online Collection. Available at: http://collection.imamuseum.org/artwork/39402/ [Accessed 16 Jun. 2019].
Spalding, F. (2012) Prunella Clough: Regions Unmapped. London: Lund Humphries Publishers.
Tate (s.d.) Abstract art – Art Term Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-art [Accessed 16 Jun. 2019]
Printmaking 2 