Lockdown week 16

Restricted Realities

In previous weeks I have applied a format beginning with Covid virus updates. This week covid will be relegated to last on the list and a reflection on artistic responses to isolation will lead the way. Take Care.

Lookout Lockdown – Restricted Realities

Lockdown has encouraged many weeks of reflection, on amongst many considerations, the local environment. If one is lucky enough to have a garden then the natural world of animals, birds and foliage has become more apparent, or we have become more aware, than before covid. However the darkness and quietness of early mornings without the demands of a structured day ahead has led to slower rising. Hopes of getting up and out to work in the fine art silkscreen print room are overtaken with the restricted reality of lockdown and to ideas of digital drawing conceived as an amalgam of photography and digital printmaking that can be approached in isolation.

The self isolating bedroom has thick wall to ceiling curtains, pulled tight in the evening that create a disorientating waking into darkness. When the curtains are pulled open light enters the room and reveal looming trees of green, wafting in the breeze that become mesmeric. Confirmation that they and the outside world is still there is welcome. Seclusion is the nature of lockdown isolation. Outside is seen from inside. A quickly taken smart phone photograph of the view looking out though the window does not capture the ambience of a room that is usually left, once awake. The world is still there and the air moves, with or without the virus.

Restricted lockdown reality makes one even more inquisitive of unaccustomed views seen by peering out of the prison window with its horizontal and vertical muntins. Looking out inspires the making of images to express the physical and emotive experience of isolation. Responses to the outside world over lockdown weeks has led to drawing out from photographs of the environment with increasingly non figurative window frames. Naturalistic drawings remain centre stage as the frames around them change, but retain their containing structures. The first drawing of the weeping tree in a trapezoid frame took many weeks to complete. The act of drawing became a meditation on the nature of the weeping foliage. It was contained by a stepped back simplified image of the window frames. In contrast to the detailed literal drawing thick dark ‘bamboo’ lines were over drawn creating a new dramatic frame to the forefront and on top of the greyed background. The addition of colour, in similar technique to under printed silkscreen layers, defined the contained drawing to the exclusion of the all other window framed images, leaving the focus on the one frame.

Lookout Lockdown #1 Wilting. 2020. A3 digital colour print. Hahnemühle German Etching 320 gsm.

The tree is: Cupressus nootkatensis. More in Lock Down 4: http://printsanew.jonnieturpie.com/2020/04

With LL#1 complete additional images appeared in waking mornings. By shifting viewpoint to the right the highlighted leaves on the maple and plane trees next to the weeping tree became the focus for LL#2. A similar process of drawing and composition was adopted. However the literal image of the window frame was rejected and replaced with a simple structure to hold the trapezoid drawing. This became a much more abstract framework in the style of a silkscreen print with the application of flat colour in contrast to the drawn and coloured central naturalistic image and Bamboo black border. In following weeks a single growing creeper appeared on a lower window frame and was drawn with a simplified frame structure and the black bamboo over drawn frame. Latterly the weather changed and the rains came which inspired LL#3. The window glass no longer transparent, but holding the raindrops as patterns of light against the dark trees in the background. The cell coming closer and curtailing looking out. #LL4 took the same format of central drawing with bamboo black frame, however this is imposed upon an abridged framing structure. The central drawing is rectangular which emphasises the skewed angle of the framework. The drawing has white surrounds between it and the frames rather than being butted up against them, and hangs like a mirror rather than integrated into the frames. The framework edges are straightened off in the photoshop programme used to compose the multilayered image. Straightening is made with lines of white which have fine dark outlines. The effect is that each edge is ‘taped’ which is a very different approach to previous images that float unsecured on a plane . On the computer screen the taping is an abstract contribution to the image, but when printed it pins the frame and drawing to the paper, in contrast to the prominence of the drawing of the patterned rained upon glass.

14 weeks into lockdown the first four prints are completed and must be finally titled. ‘Lockdown Lookout’ was the original choice implying intentions to make images that inspire positive images made from the negative restricted experience of Lockdown. On review of the images, ‘Lookout Lockdown’ seems more appropriate as the intention is to put lockdown in its place and not be restrained by it.

Considering these titles raises questions on the imposition of Lockdown. Are we imprisoned? Are we being punished? Are we prisoners in caves gazing at framed exterior environments, unsure of what we are seeing? Unlike Plato’s cave we are not looking at illusory shadows, but although what we see is approaching a reality we are familiar with, the context in which we are looking is unfamiliar. Not free to see, but restricted by an agreed communal response to a threat. We do not converse with others. We receive worldly knowledge through media channels, television, radio, social media. Is our incarceration going to arm us with new knowledge to re-enter the worlds we knew, empowered to contribute to enhanced social understanding of a new world? These are contemplative questions considered as the drawings are made to reflect the visual realities presented in locked down waking moments. Having voluntary agreed to participate in imprisonment, to protect wider society we yearn to escape to return to a freedom of our western normality, where the air between the wafting tree and waking cell is not unknown and threatening.

digital drawing #BLM

Lenny Henry celebrates his Mother’s Jamaican laugh when we could meet and share his autobiography.

Looking Ahead Link

VisualCapitalist
Follow the link for All the Detail. Thanks to ** https://boxofamazing.com/

Lockdown week 15

15 weeks in and its beginning to really, really drag

Cases are down, GOOD. Deaths are down, GOOD. Optimism is down, BAD.

digital drawing

Digital Drawing continues to be daily a staple and making drawings with the hashtag #BLM is central to this structure. The drawing below is from the Grand Opening of the Fierce Festival last November in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery when we could meet, (hug!) and share the best arts in performance, politics and Pop.

Frieze Launch, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery 2019. iPad Drawing.

Surface Tensions

I received an invitation to exhibit prints made during lockdown from the Printmakers Council to which I shared the analogue, digital, analogue print: Surface Tensions, with this description:

Prior to Lockdown, the abstract image began during testing of water and powdered lamp black ink on the gleaming glass printroom mixing surface. Its opacity was tested by fingerprinting on a scrap of cartridge paper which I photographed as it was so expressive. The image remained as a record in my digital photographic archives waiting to be revisited at this unexpected lockdown moment. I imported the image into photoshop and played with it until it ‘stood on its own’. As I do not have access to analogue print room facilities right now, I have had to conceive, trial and test new print techniques. The A3 inkjet printer I normally use for outputting photographic images for print planning was in need of a cartridge top up, and I began to experiment with digital printing techniques to preserve tactile marks. The finger ink image had a breadth of tonal and material marked qualities that offered an opportunity to test this digital to analogue print system. The image was proofed on a number of papers and once the image tone, colour and detailed marks were in balance, it was printed on coated textured Hahnemühle Digital German Etching paper.  

Made by hand, kept as photograph, printed with inkjet.  

Surface Tensions.E J Turpie, 2020. Inkjet print on Hahnemühle
German Etching paper 310gsm, 28 x 38cms

links

The Printmakers Council UK
https://wearefierce.org/a-very-fierce-grand-opening/
Fierce Film:
https://vimeo.com/370348850

PMC V&A Print Visit

Members of The Printmakers Council were privileged to be offered the opportunity of a guided tour of examples of the Victoria and Albert Museum print collection in V&A Study Room lead by Head of Prints Gill Saunders and on this occasion ably supported by her curating colleague Tim Travis.

This 2018 visit is in response to the success of past V&A visits, and a unique opportunity to view prints selected from their archives. The print selection follows the recent PMC exhibition ‘Print City’, held at the Morley Gallery with selected prints related to cities and the urban environment.

The V&A collection of works on paper number over 1 million pieces of which about 500,000 are prints and the remainder drawings, watercolours and photographs. The V&A has been collecting contemporary prints for many years since its inception.

There is a slide show of our visit below. PMC Member Denise Wylie also captured the visit and has published on her facebook page .

V&A print room visitor book
the arrival - David Hockney - sign of what's to come on the visit
new exhibition road entrace
ready to go
getting in
gill saunders head of prints introduction
first print is london's kerning
londons kerning
no lines only letters
chris ofili
concentration
inspection
smart phone capture
russian manhole cover stamps
tim travis describes prints from Russian revolutionary artists
canary construct
digital print-Tom Noonan
detail
bag for life in support of the homeless
plastic bag for life
drawing and print
whistler prints
note taking
Hockney's rakes progress
the wallet begins to empty
the drinking scene
meeting the good people
Gill Sounders Head of print
urban prints
drawings and lithographs
Gill points out catalogue number
work on moscow metro
Tim Travis Curator
Robert Gibbings Lino cut
London Bridge today robert gibbings
wood cut southwark Bridge Robert Gibbings
W Richardson
Leonard Potter colour Lino cut prints
Leonard Potter
Leonard Potter
Denise documenting the visit
Nevinson, Christopher R
Nevinson
Nevinson
Nevinson
Nevinson, Christopher Richard Wynne
woolworth building original drawing Joseph Pennel
Nevinson, Christopher R
print
Shenadoah
Martin Lewis mezzotint with glow
unworked plate to achieve light glow
detailed viewing
Tim Travis
Tim describes Notting hill series
notting hill housing trust prints
the series
nottinghill
notting hill street
Justin De Villneurve
Gill explains background
denise with phone portrait
meanwhile the cataloging continues
green label cataloging
Denise
impressive
title detail
corner detail
wrecking ball
Guy checks the hogarth book
Gin Lane engraving
detail
detail
permanently high
viewing last prints
Q & A
drawing
drawing
from mezzotint
mezzotint
IMG_3799
free viewing time
sharing a special Piranesi find
final touches
later as we leave
Catherine_bray_with_board 10x8
Strand & Whipman Manhattan Ashmoleum 10x8
Tall American Tate Britain All2Human10x8
Edin modern art_Michael_armitage10x8
Julia Stewart ikon Bock 10x8
Edin modern art kilted 10x8
Hayward_Hearing Gursky 10x8
Victorian_Giants NPG10x8
Ai Weiwei RA thinking waiting10x8
Rauschenberg Tate10x8
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Shadow

Gill began with typographical map of the city: London’s Kerning, which is a detailed street map with no delineating lines but each street is defined by its lettering. It was commissioned from NB: Studio (designer) by the International Society of Typographers in 2006

no lines only letters. London kerning

She then went on to highlight two prints by Chris Ofili made in Barcelona following his painting graduation show from the Royal college of Art where he met V&A curator Rosie Miles, who asked if he had made any prints.  He had not, however Rosie said that if he ever did let the Museum know.

Following graduation he saw some ancient rock drawings in Zimbawe made by artists in a trance like state.  He visited Barcelona and took himself into a similar trance and began drawing city landmarks on etching plates and produced 10 prints as a spiritual response to the city. These are two of them. Gill mentioned that attending degree shows was an opportunity to purchase works before they become too expensive!

Tim Travis took over to tell us about contemporary digital prints, including a monoprint by Russian artist Gluklya showing a monument to unknown workers, and a large-scale digital print by Tom Noonan.

russian manhole cover print
russian manhole cover stamps

He also introduced a unique Russian print featuring manhole covers included in a series of stamps titled ‘the best Sewerage for the best people’.  Each stamp has a subtitle dedication from the artists across the world that inspired the artist Alexander Kholopov while unable to travel out of Moscow. Images were shared across 70 countries via mail. An early example of mail art and a precursor to art and social media.

Gill showed us 4 of David Hockney’s series of 16 Rake’s Progress etchings, made while studying at the RCA when it was next door to the V&A. Guy Butters commented that Hockney prepared and printed his own plates and word has it that one of the reasons he took to print was that paper and materials were free at the time, unlike the expense of canvas and paints.  Gill suggested his prints may be even better than his paintings!

A surprising print was made on a plastic bag, part of a project to draw attention to the issue of homelessness in the city: Franko’s B’s A Bag for Life. Perhaps printed on throw away material, to chime with attitude much of society has to its homeless members.

We saw prints by WW1 war artist Joseph Pennell and prints of apocalyptic biblical scenes by 19th century painter John Martin.  Tim told us of the range of representation of the City by artists throughout the 19th century. Sometimes romantic, others reflecting anxiety about the spread of industrialisation and expanding metropolis, while other created images of cities of the imagination. In the 1980s Brodsky & Utkin were artists at the Moscow architecture institute. They worked so closely together they were awarded one diploma in their joint name. Moscow was supposed to be the ideal city and Stalin’s contribution/ legacy was the metro, whereas Khrushchev’s project was new housing which were all built on old historic sites. Tim commented that ‘houses die twice’. 1. When people leave them 2. when demolished. At the time Russian printmakers had to print when they could as materials were not freely available. Etching paper was not always available and multiple copper plates were made and printed later when paper became available.

Gill took us through prints by Whistler of the Thames.  A wonderful Hogarth book of engravings showed urban settings including Beer Street and Gin Lane illustrating the effects of alcohol on less wealthy city dwellers. Also on show were Victorian views of upmarket society entertainment at Vauxhall Gardens and Robert Gibbings’ wood cuts of London bridges, as well as colour lino-cuts of city transport, workers and life in the 20’s and 30’s by artists of the Grosvenor School.

One from this group of prints was by the artist Leonard Potter.  He was a late-comer to print having worked in stained glass, but in the 1930’s turned to colour lino-cut. Gill remembers receiving a call from reception one afternoon a few years back:  “Mr David Potter to see you”. Not knowing a David Potter, she nevertheless less went to meet the unknown visitor and met an elderly gentleman holding a battered carrier bag. Mr Potter said “you might want these” and brought out 3 colour prints of “my father Leonard’s work. We thought you might like to have them.” A truly generous and truly wonderful gift.

Following on from lino cuts we were shown a stunning collection of Christopher Nevinson’s City scenes including a 1918 Futurist influenced semi-abstract mezzotint with rich, inky black velvet shadows.

Ash Can School artist Martin Lewis’s 1939 drypoint and sandpaper aquatint Shadow Magic featured a dark urban scene with a bright glowing light bulb achieved by leaving one small area of the plate unworked.

Tim brought us up to date with a series of colour screen prints by 12 artists working with an Royal College of Art partnership to support the Notting Hill Housing Trust refurbishment in 2003 including a print of (local resident?) Justin de Villeneuve.

Gill concluded the expert and insightful tour by showing a collection of abstract prints responding to the city experience.

As we reached the end of our tour of four extended tables of multi genre printmaking Gill and Tim took questions about the prints we had seen and the city concept that had inspired their selections. We were encouraged to spend more time up close with any of the prints with a generous period of free time in the room which members enthusiastically took up.

 

Gill also pointed out the print by Liz Collini specially commissioned for the Print Room with its text: “Among the indescribable sounds of paper, moving.”

Do look at PMC Member Denise Wylie’s excellent review of the visit on her facebook page .

The Print Room is a study room where original prints can be viewed, after looking at the online catalogue and booking in advance. Gill and Tim encouraged PMC Members to make appointments and visit to see the most wonderful and wide ranging collection of extraordinary printmaking.

All the prints can be viewed on the V&A collection site: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/

Printmakers Council City and Mini Print

The Printmakers Council was formed in 1965 a group of artists including Julian Trevelyan, Michael Rothenstein, Anthony Gross, Stanley Jones and Agatha Sorel who saw the need for a society that would promote new developments within printmaking. Since then it has consistently promoted the place of printmaking in the visual arts. More about the history of the Printmakers Council here

In 2017 the Council invited artist printmakers to submit works for the Print City and Mini Print  exhibitions which opened on November at the Morley Gallery in Lambeth London.  The exhibits showed the breadth of UK printmaking including silkscreen, etching, linocut,  lithography, solar and plastic engraving. I submitted a mini print  (19×19) of an inkjet print on pastel paper – Welsh Bowl with Mermaids Purse, Sheep’s Wool and Rabbits Tail.  The Mini Prints are a portfolio that will be held by the V&A Print Collection. I met Michael Pritchard from Staffordshire who had his digital prints in the city exhibition that sat alongside plastic engravings by Louise Hayward and Guy Butters Underground Surveillance that hung in on of the windows which are included in the slide how of iPhone pictures from the opening night.

Scottish visitor
City Print full house
close inspection
Welsh Bowl Inkjet print- ejt
mini prints
IMG_5553.jpeg
4 mini prints
plastic engravings
kipling estate LH
louise hayward underground.jpeg
michael pritchard digital.jpeg
Committee Convo
Rebuilding the Built
IMG_5585.jpeg
underground surveillance Guy Butters
Morley Gallery
Imperial war museum gate house
Imperial War Museum Frontage
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Shadow
The gallery is nearby The Imperial War Museum which was particularly dramatic that night with a bright moon low in the sky.

Imperial War Museum Moonlight Gate House

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