Untitled (1993) Triptych (right panel)
This piece is a favorite of mine. I was curious back in 1993 about
the effect of broad strokes applied to three 40 x 60 sheets laid out
on my studio floor. To achieve a "free-flowing" nature to the design
I attached a pencil to the end of two (taped together) wooden
dowels. The resulting five foot pencil was then used to apply
sweeping lines across the three panels. To further insure a smooth
line, I made sure the separate panels had no space between them. I
can remember enjoying the process of drawing this design as it was
not only large, but it also involved three (eventually) integrated
images. The intent was to superimpose large square patterns over the
sweeping lines AND to do this in a balanced way while also trying to
emphasize motion in these geometric shapes as well. This was
achieved by staggering them and intentionally NOT showing their full
size. An "off-the canvas" look was attempted here. In this image, I
was curious about developing depth as well. This was achieved by
intentionally "weaving" the flowing lines through the geometric
shapes AND tinting the interior areas of the shapes as well. Since
the images were so large, I had to mount all three panels in another
area of the house (where there was more wall space). It was ONLY in
this way that I was then able to "see" what colors should be used to
insure the accurate integration of the three designs. At one point I
was curious about how such images (in triptych format) would look on
the outside of buildings. These larger image ideas at one point DID
result in what later turned out to be the mural for the Acton,
Massachusetts Music Center. Prior to this large-format series of
ideas, I was interested in a project which never really got off the
ground. It was to magnify DIATOMS (which are beautifully geometric
microscopic sea organisms) to be approximately 48 inches in
diameter. The idea broke down when I discovered the fabric I had
chosen for a specially constructed silkscreen had too small a mesh
for inks to penetrate. A second and more serious problem developed
when the sheer SIZE of the silk screen caused an adverse "bowing" to
take place such that the printed image areas became blurred by the
dragging effect of the bowed silk. Possibly the diatom project will
be attempted at some other time differently. Like snowflakes,
diatoms have always fascinated me. There are so many varieties and
all are very beautiful. Imagine how they would look if they were
huge!
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