Different Color Eye Day

July 12th is a day that celebrates eyes, specifically individuals that have two different color eyes. This condition is referred to as heterochromia iridum. Walking through the museum, the portrait monotypes depict the most eyes as most people would expect. However, the image that best represents this day is Leaves Leaves on Grass. Although, the eyes are not two different colors, they definitely catch your attention.

Leaves Leaves on Grass

This is one in a series of seven linocuts made in Mexico.

Our Final Post on Paper

Within the manuscripts was another neat addition to our collection, an interview and behind the scenes documentary explaining why Arthur chose to create paper in the traditional method and how it contributed to his work.

Why would a contemporary artist be interested in doing this? Well, Arthur viewed it as an art form itself and specifically came to France because that location marked the beginning of the tradition. The paper mills in the United States were simply influenced by French paper making.

Further into the interview, the difference between working in rather than on paper is discussed. Specifically, while working on paper it loses its identity with the image becoming the dominating presence. On the other hand, the pate form of paper can resemble both a two and three dimensional format, painterly and sculptural. In addition, Arthur considers his torn paper collages to possess a unique quality, again relating to sculpture.

Arthur decided to defy the usual procedure and actually mixed the colors of his choosing and poured them directly onto the mold. This experiment left him guessing how everything would turn out, would the colors blend together and would they bleed? Curiosity and worry greeted Arthur at the end of the day, his anticipation would grow through the night and into the morning when he could see the final result.

from ih3.redbubble.net

 

Interview

An interview of Cleary University President Tom Sullivan and benefactor C. Edward Wall recently appeared on local cable television in Bloomfield to discuss the works of Arthur Secunda.

Pochoir

The pochoir style is an old, uniquely French method of printmaking. Today the pochoir method is normally done by cutting thin aluminum in such a way that the shapes depicted in the artwork are separate and defined. A special kind of razor is used in this initial stage. Then brushing the gouache (an opaque watercolor) onto the paper with a kind of shaving brush using swirling motions through the aluminum cut-outs creates the effect of a watercolor. The resulting print has the characteristics of an original, one-of-a-kind work, unlike images created by any other multiple printing method known.

Pochoir is often called the grandfather of silkscreen, though silkscreen prints are printed through a screen. However, the basic block-out method is the same. It is a medium that Lautrec, Vuillard, Steinlen, and other poster artists at the turn of the century in France utilized frequently and it was highly valued for its original look.

This print is based on Igor Stravinsky’s 1913 ballet, Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). The positions of the dancers in the print capture significant moments and movements from the ballet. This image was printed by Jacamet Pochoir in Avignon, France. Jacamet is generally considered the finest pochoir printer in the world. This is one of the most complex works the firm has ever printed, and to the best of the company’s knowledge, this is the largest pochoir print produced to date.

Sacre du Printemps

Engraving, Etching, and Woodcut

Engraving refers to a printing technique in which an intaglio image is produced by cutting a metal plate or box directly with a sharp engraving tool. The incised lines are inked and printed with heavy pressure.

Peace Brother

Etching is a printing technique in which a metal plate is first covered with an acid-resistant material, then worked with an etching needle to create an intaglio image. The exposed metal is eaten away in an acid bath, creating depressed lines that are later inked for printing. This technique was thought to have been developed by Daniel Hopfer (1493-1536). Etching surpassed engraving as the most popular graphic art during the active years of Rembrandt and Hercules Segher in the 17th century, and it remains one of the most versatile and subtle printing techniques today.

Cathedral Etching Plate

Sunken Cathedral

Woodcut can be described as a printing technique in which the printing surface has been carved from a block of wood. The traditional wood block is seasoned hardwood such as apple, beech, or sycamore. A modern trend, however, is to use more inexpensive wood and easily attainable soft woods such as pine. Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of printing first used by the Chinese in the 12th century and later in Europe towards the end of the 14th century.

Traffic on Boulevard Brune

Metamorphosis des Fleurs

Collagraphy, Lithography, and Serigraphy

Collagraphy refers to a printing technique in which proofs are pulled from a block on which the artwork or design is built up like a collage, creating a relief.

A Clear Space is an example of a collagraph

Lithography is a printing technique that uses a planographic process in which prints are pulled on a special press from a flat stone or metal surface that has been chemically sensitized so that ink sticks only to the design areas, and is repelled by the non-image areas. Lithography was invented in 1798 in Solnhofen, Germany by Alois Senefelder. The early history of lithography is dominated by great French artists such as Daumier and Delacroix, and later by Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Braque, and Miro.

Night Migration is an example of a lithograph

Serigraphy (silkscreen) can be described as a printing technique that makes use of a squeegee to force ink directly into a piece of paper or canvas through a stencil creating an image on a screen or silk or other fine fabric with an impermeable substance. Serigraphy differs from most other printing in that its color areas are paint films rather than printing-ink stains.

Beverly Hills Forest is an example of a serigraph

What is a Monotype?

Monotypes are one-of-a-kind prints made by painting on a sheet of metal or glass and transferring the still-wet-painting to a sheet of paper by hand or with an etching press. The resulting image has a distinctive “flatness” and beauty.

If enough paint remains on the master plate, additional prints can be made, however, the reprint will have substantial variations from the original image. Monotype printing is not a multiple-replica process since each print is unique.

Check out the videos on monotypes:

The Arthur Secunda Museum houses various collections of monotypes including a Bible (Genesis) series, jazz suite, and portraits.