Dry Point
"Telluric"17.5x13cm
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Process
Brainstorming |
Planning |
1. Write down potential concepts, ideas, artistic inspirations, and cultural connections you can incorporate into your piece.
Image Preparation3. Using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, create a 17.5x13cm artboard/canvas and import the picture you will etch. Instead of resizing the image, place it on the artboard and crop the photo, using the outline of the artboard as a guide. When cropping isolate the details or areas of the image that are the most interesting. Print the photo and remove both layers of protective film from the plexiglass plate. Position the plexiglass plate over the photo and line up the edges of the plate with the edges of the photo. Tape the four corners of the plate and secure them to the paper.
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2. Create two to three planning sketches. Incorporate the concepts you brainstormed and be aware of what negative and positive areas translate to with dry point prints. Furthermore, consider the limitations of dry point and how you will add value to the piece.
- Collect photos of potential concepts and convert them into black and white images in Lightroom. |
Etching
4. Using a fine tipped inscribing tool, etch into the plexiglass plate by following the lines on the photo underneath. First, etch the general outline of the crack, flowers, and other forms. Once the general outline is etched into the plate, add value to the left and right sides surrounding the crack with crosshatching. Do not etch the crack itself as it will remain white to establish strong contrast. As a general rule, apply a small amount of pressure when inscribing then increase the amount of pressure until the etches are deep enough to hold ink.
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Printing
5. Place the plexiglass plate on a piece of newsprint and with a palette knife, place a small amount of black oil based ink on the plate. Using the edge of the palette knife, distribute the ink evenly by scraping the ink and dragging it across the etchings. If needed, place more ink on the plate. Once the ink is evenly distributed throughout the etchings, Tear newsprint into small pieces and use them to wipe off excess ink on the plates. Crumpled paper will often remove more ink therefore you should utilize flat strips of paper, apply a small amount of pressure when rubbing off the excess ink, and move with a circular motion. Move the plexiglass plate on to a clean sheet of newsprint and place a piece of watercolor paper into a container of clean water for five to six minutes. When the paper is done soaking, remove it from the water and place it on a towel. After patting down the paper, fold over the sheet of newsprint to cover the plate and watercolor paper. Place them underneath a protective mat, then roll the through the printing press. After printing, clean off your plate with mineral spirits.
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Experimentation
While printing, experiment with using varying amounts of ink and rubbing in and removing said ink from the plate. Experimentation is a rigorous but necessary part of the creative process. I created roughly four prints, each with a different amount of ink placed on the plate, and realized that excessive amounts tend to muddle the lines and details while overly small amount of ink result in a faded look. I struggled to visually express the value through crosshatching and clearly represent the flowers because I had to find the right balance of ink and rubbing. In the end, I decided to use an even layer of ink with rubbing distributed unevenly throughout. For the crack area, I rubbed the most as it required the least ink as compared to the sides on either side of the crack. This allowed me to retain the detail of the flowers while still demonstrating the value established through crosshatching.
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Artistic Inspiration
The piece "Telluric" draws inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson's photography. I attempted to incorporate Cartier-Bresson's, candid and in the moment composition and subject matter into my dry point print. His photography was based on the idea of "the decisive moment" where subject, setting, and composition were all in harmony. To him, photos were spontaneous; he captured brief glimpses into everyday life and photographed moments that would never occur in exactly the same way again. Cartier-Bresson was a trailblazer in the field of street photography where candidness is key. He didn't manipulate scenes, he captured them. I emulated this lack of pretense and desire to depict the world as it is albeit with a differing subject matter. Whereas Cartier-Bresson often captured people, I opted to depict the unseen parts of nature. Furthermore, my print does not strive for realism, but rather a simplified representation of the scene. In contrast, Cartier-Bresson's photography is rooted in realism and depicting moments as they were. A fundamental difference exists in the mediums used as well. Cartier-Bresson used black and white 35 mm film which offers a wide range of monochromatic hues whereas dry point printing offers one shade of black with value established through crosshatching and stippling. Additionally, my piece has a dramatic contrast of black and white whereas Cartier-Bresson's photos contrast with more subtlety due to the gradation allowed by film. In regards to composition, my piece is focused on one subject with multiple objects within it, leading to a simple composition. Cartier-Bresson's photos differ as they frame the subject, typically a human figure, with varying elements within the scene. His composition encourages movement of the eyes and establishes balance with contrasting figures with varying weights. I did not aim to capture the detail offered by photography but rather, I focused on the essence of Cartier-Bresson's photography, the idea of capturing moments in time.
Reflection
Through the completion of this project, I have learned how to create prints with a medium previously foreign to me. Prior to this project, I was only familiar with water based ink and block printing. While it was interesting to experiment and try a new medium, it exposed many of my weaknesses as an artist. I demonstrated poor time management and didn't incorporate my artist inspiration effectively. My piece does not evoke the iconic photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Even considering the differences in medium, I feel as though my lines aren't as clean and crisp as they could've been. I've become familiar with the strengths and limitations of dry point, and I know that achieving such lines is possible, thus "Telluric" is still a work in progress. In the future, I will return to dry point, even though I'm not a fan of the medium, to better achieve my goal of representing "things unseen". As it is, my print doesn't clearly convey the idea of noticing small details. This lack of clear purpose and meaning almost renders my print superficial. I realize that I must take advantage of the ability to create thin lines and crosshatch to add value. My piece is ineffective as a result of me not taking my time to add value and scratch the lines cleanly. Furthermore, I encountered many troubles while printing. I still have yet to pull a print I'm satisfied with; some prints had too much ink whereas others appeared faint. I plan to refine my process in the future when I return to dry point.
Meaning
"Telluric" is a piece that represents the things in life that go unseen; things that are there, but aren't noticed. Much like Henri Cartier-Bresson's work, my piece doesn't aim to create art, but rather, to find it. I once wandered on to a tennis court and tried to compose a shot. But there was something so vast about the court; it was too obvious. So I broke down the tennis court and found the fundamental parts of it: nets, lines, benches, metal bars, fencing, and oddly enough, cracks. I learned that every court was divided by a gap; they weren't obvious, but when you saw them, you couldn't look at the tennis court without noticing them. On that particular day, there were flowers sprouting from the cracks. It was beautiful in an almost painful way. Regardless of the beauty they possessed at that very moment, almost no one would notice it. I took it upon myself to document it, to show people something they would've never noticed, because they never would've looked for them. It's the small things drowning in the bigger picture that tell wonderful stories, "Telluric" is proof of this. The piece is me telling the world to look, to see, to notice the details. While the first piece in the series "Juxtaposition" displayed the unseen elements of people, "Telluric" explores the unseen in nature.
Connection to ACT
1. I am able to identify the cause-effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect upon my artwork by analyzing the subject of my piece and the contrast of black and white. Henri Cartier-Bresson's art was based on capturing the unseen things in everyday life which inspired my piece. Furthermore, Cartier-Bresson shot on black and white 35mm film which is why I opted for a similar monochromatic color palette.
2. The author's point of view is that Henri Cartier-Bresson was a master of capturing decisive moments in everyday life; his work was focused on highlighting unique moments in life that will never be repeated in exactly the same way ever again.
3. While researching, I realized that art can be created, but also found and captured. Art doesn't always require manipulation of a subject or lighting, sometimes, as in the case of Henri Cartier-Bresson's work, art is working to immortalize a scene or a moment in time.
4. The central theme of my inspirational research was capturing and representing things unseen.
5. While reading my research, I inferred that Henri Cartier-Bresson preferred simple compositions and used the black and white 35mm film to isolate the subject of a photo from the background and foreground through contrast.
2. The author's point of view is that Henri Cartier-Bresson was a master of capturing decisive moments in everyday life; his work was focused on highlighting unique moments in life that will never be repeated in exactly the same way ever again.
3. While researching, I realized that art can be created, but also found and captured. Art doesn't always require manipulation of a subject or lighting, sometimes, as in the case of Henri Cartier-Bresson's work, art is working to immortalize a scene or a moment in time.
4. The central theme of my inspirational research was capturing and representing things unseen.
5. While reading my research, I inferred that Henri Cartier-Bresson preferred simple compositions and used the black and white 35mm film to isolate the subject of a photo from the background and foreground through contrast.
Sources
Websites
MoMA. "Henri Cartier-Bresson." MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
Department of Photographs. “Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cabr/hd_cabr.htm (October 2004)
Books
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, and Michael L. Sand. The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers. New York, NY: Aperture, 1999. Print.
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Henri Matisse, and E. Tériade. The Decisive Moment. New York: Published ... by Simon and Schuster in Collaboration with Éditions Verve of Paris, 1952. Print.
MoMA. "Henri Cartier-Bresson." MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.
Department of Photographs. “Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cabr/hd_cabr.htm (October 2004)
Books
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, and Michael L. Sand. The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers. New York, NY: Aperture, 1999. Print.
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Henri Matisse, and E. Tériade. The Decisive Moment. New York: Published ... by Simon and Schuster in Collaboration with Éditions Verve of Paris, 1952. Print.