Creating work that is figurative and easily replicable is an intrinsic part of the medium of screen printing. This week, my work explored the potential for replicability and began looking at the use of line as a way to build layers and shapes.
For this set of iterations, I made seven black squares of the same size, using the same amount of paint, applied in the same place on the screen.
The differences in the copies came from excess paint that had become enmeshed in the screen, as well as the number of times the squeegee was run across the paper. The red circles were added to underscore the differences in the copies, while still unifying them as a series.
The facsimile quality of the replicas created by the ghosts of the enmeshed paint, created an interesting effect that questioned the idea of quality in copied images. What does a replica owe to its original? What is the value of the replica? What is the relationship between the two?
The second set of iterations focused on the use of line and color. Applying masking tape directly to the screen, I was able to create and replicate different patterns. The deliberate use of negative space came to the fore during these experiments. Depth through layering also became a feature of these outcomes, further expanding my understanding of the process of screen printing.
Throughout this week, the dynamic between intentionality and spontaneity inherent in the rudimentary form of the medium started to coalesce into a process in and of itself. I began to understand how the paint would behave under certain parameters, and was able to take some control of the final outcome using a combination of specific gestures, paint amounts and placement, and tape.
The progress of the outcomes this week clarified a process with the potential to push further into figurative work.
The spontaneous veining of the paint, coupled with the intentional solidity of the lines, created a set of tools that could be employed with increased specificity to generate more complex work.
There also emerged a distinct aesthetic quality that created a sense of compositional cohesion that anchored the work as a whole.