Prints 101: Artist Statement Part Deux

I love reading Ross' artist statement. If you have ever been in a social situation with Ross you will most likely hear some of the stories he depicts, embellishments and all. Get him jolly and hear him talk.

Most of my work is based on elements of the home, both decorative aspects and the memories we make in them. Perhaps its the cottage lady in me, or maybe its that I have grown up in one of the most architecturally diverse cities in the world, but I love special details that make a dwelling personal.

I was going to post my artist statement from thesis but I don't really think it applies to me anymore. While I still dabble in the production of pattern and distress, I think my current studio situation (or lack there of) is forcing my interests to move towards a cleaner design style... Or maybe my mother is just impressing upon me that I can't make a mess on her dining room table.

So here is where I was. My wallpaper from thesis is where it brought me to, but here is some idea of where I see myself going... I am being heavily influenced currently by the giant bridal machine of everlasting happiness. It is inevitable that art will imitate life so I would rather keep things pleasant and stick with my dream landscape of color, music and love than harp on the fact that nothing make you feel chubbier than putting on a white dress.

Color, color, color. Thats where I'm heading.

Further posts as events warrant.

Prints 101: Artist Statement

Sauce and i are hard at work getting Cage Free Press up and running. we reserved cagefreepress.com, and as soon as we figure out how to make it host this blog, it will be up and running.  we're also working on putting together some awesome business cards that are gonna blow some minds.
in the mean time, we thought we'd post our artist statements, just to give yall a heads up on what our individual work is all about.  here's mine.  enjoy!  feel free to ask questions or make unreasonably large donations. ;)

­­My prints represent an oral history and explore the effects of nostalgia on storytelling, memory and emotional attachment.  As a storyteller, I am prone to embellish the facts and bend the truth in an attempt to make my tale more entertaining.  As time passes and these stories are repeatedly told, my embellishments become an integral part of the story, and in turn, redefine the memory and my attachment to it.  The end result is an idealized and elaborate tall tale that I use to captivate an audience.  I want my work to capture the viewer in the same way.

I choose to create the majority of my prints using relief methods because they allow my drawing style to define the work.  Hand printing results in movement and variation within the ink, giving each print a unique surface quality, which I find aesthetically pleasing.  I choose to print large-scale in order to convey the larger-than-life nature of the story and the empowerment of memory.  Furthermore, I enjoy the physical demands of both relief printing and creating large-scale work.

Through my work, I want to show the viewer memories ­­­of stories that have shaped the way I recall and retell my personal history.  I want them to see imagination and nostalgia at work.  I want to entertain the viewer and remind them of their own incredible stories.

Prints 101: Giclee Prints

There are some printmakers who will tell you that giclee's should not be considered a fine art process, and they may be right. At its simplest, a giclee print involves taking a digital file and printing it out with an ink-jet printer. Now with this definition one could argue that the pictures I used to print out off the internet of Zac Hanson for my "HANSON RULES" scrapbook were essentially giclee's. I, however, would like to offer a more specific definition. A giclee print is a fine art print from a digital source that is printed from an ink-jet printer using archival inks (ink that wont fade over time) and is printed on a suitable medium such as fine paper or canvas.

A standard ink-jet has one cartridge with 4 inks. Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Believe it or not, the combinations of these four colors brings to life practically all of the printed material you see. My thesis show was a collection of giclee prints. My wallpaper I created and every one of the interchangeable design elements were printed from a massive Epson printer that had 8 separate archival ink cartridges that were suitably blended to create ever color of the rainbow.

Now if you are not impressed with this behemoth of a machine, let me give you an idea of scale for this image printed: that paper is over three feet wide and each panel printed was eleven feet tall.

I really enjoyed working in this capacity. I could take all the endless color options from the computer and transpose them perfectly onto fine cotton paper. There is substance to these prints. Alternatively for artists who do a limited run of a physical print (like a woodblock or one of Ross' insulation foam prints), they can scan or photograph their original image and print copies of their work. These are less laborious and demand less manpower to produce so they can be sold at a much lower price point. They can also be scaled down digitally to accommodate smaller spaces. But my favorite perk of the giclee print is that it give graphic artists, like myself, a little bit of clout in the gallery. By being able to produce work digitally (which can involve as much drawing as a litho plate) and print it out on something nicer than computer paper.

There is undeniable talent in graphic artists. They are receiving more gallery attention abroad currently than they are in America. But I think in years to come the price point, and the availability will make them more and more attractive to American buyers. The print above is by American artist and animator Kristen Ulve. I looooove her work. On canvas, measuring 38" x 57" her print "Geisha" will set you back $250 plus shipping. This is way less expensive than the original painting which is $3,200.

Now you know.

Prints 101: Relief Printing

like my feeeyawnsay said. different strokes for different folks (rest in peace Gary) when it comes to printmaking.  like most guys my age, most of my early exposure to artistic endeavors came in the form of animated films or saturday morning cartoons.  my brother and i used to watch this tv show called McGee and Me. this kid named Nick has this baller pencil sharpener that was set up like a Rube Goldberg project. he would draw this character named McGee in a red notebook, and McGee would come to life and teach him life lessons: like don't make fun of native americans or talk trash to dudes with a knife hanging out the tip of their cowboy boot. 
my mom bought me a notebook just like his, and i filled it full of superman stories and all kinds of crazy stuff. drawing and storytelling go back to my most basic artistic experiences. while any printmaking form can showcase your drawing skill, there's something special about relief printing that shows the hand drawn aspect of the work so well.  
relief printing started in china in the 3rd century AD. its older than the Great Wall. word.  woodblock printing is mostly recognized for the work of Hokusai, especially this little ditty:

the Great Wave Off of Kanagawa.  if i could ever summon the courage to get a tattoo, you're looking at it.  its absolutely beautiful.  after the Japanese rocked the woodblock out, the Germans took a swing at religious imagery, and then the Renaissance greats, like Durer, leaned with it and rocked with it. and then there's me. 
here's a look at the set of tools i use for relief work:

each tool leaves a very specific mark. like a fingerprint. its fascinating.

                                                                     

after inking the block and placing paper onto the block, i print by hand using a series of tools.  i'll use anything from a box of cat litter to a handmade wooden spoon.  like so:

after my arms get too tired to keep going, i check the print, if it looks like a masterpiece, i remove the paper from the block.

                                           

boom.  knowledge is power.

Prints 101: Screen Prints

As students of printmaking, Ross and I have both been trained in several different printing processes. Naturally, different people excel in different areas, and thankfully that is the case with our preferred mediums. In my first printmaking class (back in Spring 2006, wow) I was very interested in taking the clean designs I was accustomed to creating on the computer and producing them in new ways, by hand. I quickly discovered with relief printing processes (Ross' specialty) there was no "Undo Button." (For those of you with Adobe Illustrator experience, "Command Z" became my mantra as I hacked away at woodblocks.) When I was introduced to screen printing that fall, everything changed. I could finally take photographic image and combine it with computer editing and produce handmade consistency.

Screen printing, or some form of it, has been around since 960 AD starting, naturally, in Asia. As silk became more available to western continents so did the process. Because of the processes ability to reproduce images consistently and effectively, its commercial use has long outweighed its artistic use. In the 1930's the National Serigraphic Society developed the term "Serigraphy" to distinguish artistic pursuits in the medium. This term didn't garner global respect until Andy Warhol popularized the process with a certain image that is so iconic I won't even bother to post a copy (because you know the one.)

Screen printing is the most versatile process in printmaking because it can be done on practically any surface. By using either a stencil or light sensitive emulsion a negative image is produced on a mesh screen.

When ink is pushed through the screen in the areas that are not blocked by stencil or emulsion the image is passed onto paper. (In these photos this is the light sensitive emulsion.) So now you know. When we refer to a screen print on here this is the process we are talking about. Ink being pushed though a mesh screen.

Aaaaaand here's a picture of Ross looking irritated:

Knowledge is power.