bridget errante

Litho Quilt, 31 x 31

Here is my completed litho print for Barb’s class.

This print contains a lot of “firsts” for me. For one, this was my first litho print (even though we used Pronto-Plates, which is like lithography for babies). Secondly, this was my first paper quilt. Each colored square is a different sheet of paper, stitched together to create a single body.

This project is a continuation of my exploration between mass-produced and handmade items. The pattern of the quilt came from a single piece of store-bought lace that I scanned into the computer, reproduced several times, and then printed on different sheets of colored paper. I arranged each of the pieces into a random pattern which I then stitched together with a sewing a machine.

Here, I was attempting to take a mass-produced object that takes its form from a handmade object (like lace), and then reclaim it as a handmade object by turning it into the epitome of the handmade, a quilt. At the same time, I would be exploiting the mass-produced quality of the lace by printing it several times. I wanted some kind of conflict to exist here. Perhaps the idea of the mass-produced and the handmade living together in a single space? To me, this is representative of the interaction between differing cultures. Yes, sometimes conflicts occur and boundaries become obscured, but they exist together nonetheless.

Andrea Higgins, Dorion (2008), oil on canvas

I’ve been thinking a lot about mass production and what separates the handmade object from the mass produced object. I’ve realized that the handmade object can posses the following qualities: authenticity, uniqueness, irregularity, singularity, preciousness, and inaccessibility. By contrast, the mass produced object possesses these qualities: multiplicity, conformity, falseness, standardization, accessibility, and disposability.

Neither type of object is “better” or “worse” than the other. Yes, the handmade object is special in its singularity, but it is also highly inaccessible. Elitist, even. And although it made be cheaply or crudely made, the mass produced object is democratic; all are invited to partake in it.

Some questions: What would happen if you were to reproduce a handmade object multiple times? What does an object gain by becoming mass produced? What does it lose? How has serial production changed our idea of value?

Time to think!

Here are the completed versions of the mock-up print I posted last week. I was able to successfully silkscreen both the photos and wallpaper-like patterns inside the doilie. I was originally going to use a plain white paper doilie, but then I found these metallic gold ones at the craft store and I knew I HAD to use them.

The biggest difference between my mock-up and the final version(s) is obviously the background space. I was originally going to use vintage advertisements for that area, but then changed my mind and chose to hand-embroider fabric instead. The change came about mostly because I started thinking about the basic idea behind this print: the conflict between the handmade and the mass produced object . I originally felt like the wallpaper prints inside the doilie could represent the handmade element since many decorative arts in Sicily were (and still are) produced by hand. The advertisements, then, would represent the mass produced.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the silkscreened wallpaper print could not represent the handmade because the very act of silkscreen printing is a mechanical process used for mass production. So, if the wallpaper print inside the doilie represented mass production, I needed to have my background represent the handmade — hence, the embroidered fabric.

I enjoyed finally being able to incorporate printmaking and embroidery, it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now. Overall, I’m happy with the piece in terms of craftsmanship and idea development (I feel like I’m finally going somewhere with my silly little Italian-kitsch aesthetic). However, I still need to be more conscious of my color and compositional choices.

Here’s a really quick mock-up I made on Photoshop for my first silkscreen project in my Print II B class. The family photo, as well as the floral background, will be silkscreened and then collaged onto a paper dolie. The dolie will then be matted onto an old advertisement for a quintessential American product — think Wonderbread, Coca-Cola, Smuckers, Macy’s, etc. The whole thing will then be framed and hung on the wall with wire.

I want to do a series of 3 of these prints, each with a different family photo, background, and advertisement.

My goal here is to explore the relationship between my family’s traditional, folk culture (family meals, handmade tapestries) and the American, mass-produced culture (advertisements) that they find themselves living in today. Sometimes, as in the case of the paper dolie, something that was once a precious handmade object becomes rapidly and cheaply reproduced. Here, a conflict occurs. The dolie loses it’s preciousness, it’s innocence, and becomes a victim to mass production.

Alas, when two distinctly different cultures like these collide, tension is bound to occur. Questions arise: What is the essential source of this tension? How can this tension be resolved? Will it ever be? What are the general/individual/social/psychological/physcial consequences of living with this tension?

My mind is racing.

I’m actually going to start using this blog to .. ya know, blog.

Stay tuned.

details

Here is my final individual project for my printmaking class.  I was aiming to recreate a church fresco located in the main church, the Madre Chiesa (or “Mother Church”), in my parents’ hometown in Sicily. I’m happy with the overall look of the piece, but the woodblock and silkscreen prints are not my best. I had to silkscreen the red area before the bottom green ink (the woodcut) had a chance to fully dry. Also, the red I used is way too dark, and you lose a lot of the details of the image. If I had the chance to do it over, I would have used a lighter ink, probably a pink, so that the you could actually see the silkscreen print.

This piece has inspired me to do a series of fresco reproductions. I will probably try to do some sketches over winter break and then make the actual prints when the studios are reopened in January.

Paolo Veneziano + Richard Diebenkorn = my painting final

OY!

COMPLETED MASHUP PAINTING

54″ X 72″

As promised, here is my “completed” mashup painting along with it’s original reference photo. I say “completed” because even though it was due in class today, it still needs some work. The colors are a bit muted on my painting because of the lighting, but I think you can get a sense of how I tried to duplicate the original image as much as possible.

I have to say that I’m proud of myself for taking on such an ambitious painting, both in scale (huge!) and content (straight line overload!).  I think that once I touch up the details, it will become one of my strongest paintings to date.

LARGE MASHUP

54″ x 72″

This is what I have so far for my latest painting assignment. My professor, Julie, wants us to explore painting in relation to photography — what happens when you paint a photo, why would you paint a photo, etc. This painting in particular is based on a Photoshop image I created by combining & manipulating these two images:

It’s been a lot more challenging to paint a photo than I anticipated. Not being able to make your own decisions things like color and composition is strange, and I’m not sure if I like it. Despite several setbacks and issues with taping off my lines, I think this will be a satisfying painting to complete. I look forward to seeing the final result.

I’ll post the actual Photoshop image when I’m finished with the painting, so you can get a sense of comparison.