by Mike Sullivan |
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Here's a description of how these prints were made: |
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photo-etching 72 x 8" 1997 Here's a photo of my son lying on a bed (sucking his toe). I saw the photograph as resembling some kind of angelic motion, even descent. There are two plates used to make this print. One is smaller in the middle and was a messy oil of wintergreen transfer. The second, larger plate was made with riston film. Up close, the print shows those little geometric lines that computers make. I was happy that the oil of wintergreen plate was more organic |
piper photo-etching 6 x 8" 1997 The photograph in the middle is one of my older sisters dressed in a lampshade and a curtain. Its zeroxed, subscribing to an idea of fading. At one time it reminded me of the look of posters of missing children. The frame around the photograph was made from a zerox of my dad's paisley pajamas. The guitar chords (entablature) were written down for me by sister years ago. I don't think that this story is necessary to the enjoyment of the print which is in itself very beautiful, I think. It may still subscribe to ideas of being entranced musically, or the sleep of death, as the title denotes. |
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mischevious photo-etching 6 x 7" 1997 This was the third of these 3 and done with one plate. You can see the same idea of a sleeping figure suspended in mid air motion. I was also becoming increasingly interested in the idea of the living figure being barely evident as such, relying on the viewer's own subconscious awareness of having a body to fill in the black space. |
This is a linocut. An image is carved into mipolam, which is the contemporary floor covering material which used to be linoleum. Now linoleum is only made for printmakers. The image is carved into the material, then ink is rolled over, missing the carved portions which remain white. Myself, I use a certain nib that is about as wide as a pin then softly sand out the excess burr. |
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linocut approx.2x3' 1996 (this image was scanned from photo) |
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Last year Mike had solo shows at Don Giovanni's, Bukowski's (with Jordan Bent), Mecca, Lugz, and Turks and showed at the Roundhouse for the annual collaberative performance peice "Anu." He'll be showing over a dozen books at the Britannia Branch Library in July. He'll also be performing at the Railway Club May 25.
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More printmaking links and resources
Here's some of the corespondence between myself and Paul Hamilton
at the U of Ulster:
Here Paul,
I'm
very glad you asked me these questions as I'm glad that someone is asking
them. I think and express these concerns all the time. If I've overlooked
anything, don't hesitate to write me back.
Do you believe that process
can be attributed to content?
Do you think digital
medium is restrictive or advantageous to the creative output of fine
art printmaking?
The surface qualities
of traditional print have been >regarded as an important aesthetic quality
of traditional printmaking; do you believe this to be true?
What qualities does digital
technology bring to print and what qualities, if any, do you think
are made redundant through digital technology?
Why use traditional processes
if computer technology > can simulate many aspects of traditional printmaking?
What implications are
there for the traditional studio and which will be attributed
to the computers integration into the printmaking studio of the future?
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