Reflections within the Grid

Reflections within the Grid, a multi-media installation displaying the interwoven relationship between laser fabrication and printmaking, was conceived as a platform for pairing urban imagery with digitally conceived and handmade pieces. Working in collaboration with electronic artist  Libi Striegl, we investigated how laser fabrication could be used in making multiples.  Our research provided a completely different approach to my printmaking practice. Through laser cutting I could fully manipulate my woodblocks by engraving a wide array of imagery onto their surfaces and using technology, produce handmade works of art.  I spent two years experimenting with laser fabrication before finding the right combinations of marks and imagery to fit this new approach to making my prints.  During this process I questioned how to merge this new approach with the marks that I have hand cut into my blocks over the years. Ironically, my  thematic ideas, visual dynamics and compositions made this connection.  Using  photography,  I captured grids and patterns in architecture, relating to my interests in cartography, urban planning, architecture, typography, calligraphy, archaeology, topography, symbolism, boundaries and psychology.

Our collaboration evolved into an exhibition held at the Power Plant Gallery, in Durham, NC in fall 2017.  This exhibit visually and formally examined the relationships between organic forms and geometric structures, through deciphering images of contemporary curtain-wall architecture found in New York City, London, Shanghai and Tokyo.  It presented the artists’ vision of seeing it subjects in multiple ways and formats, while fusing traditionally-made imagery with technologically-generated applications.  Although the work was digitally produced, at its roots, it was organically constructed.

Reflections within the Transitioning Grid: Merging Structure, Form & Design with Technology, included four distinct bodies of work.

• Reflections within the Transitioning Grid: Projections are visually the most similar to the source materials used as inspiration for the overall project. By dividing and projecting layers of a digital drawing, each projection controlled presence-sensors that responded to those occupying it.
• Reflections within the Grid: Woodcuts is a group of forty multi-color laser cut woodblock prints displayed in a grid format. Within the grid, there are four distinct groups of images, that through order, positioning, and omission of layers show transitions within the series.
• Reflections within the Transitioning Grid: Reliefs includes fifteen low-relief works designed and fabricated on the laser cutter using white mat board. Shapes, details and patterning taken from reflected areas within the projected digital drawing were the visual foundation for this body of work. Relief forms emphasizing depth were layered together and when lit, cast a host of linear activity due to the varying heights of the vector cut planes.
• Reflections within the Grid: Incised Tapestry includes thirty-four double-sided laser etched prints displayed on light boxes. Digitally manipulated photographs were scrupulously paired with a counterpart piece to create a dynamic visual relationship, with aspects of both images emerging from their backlit surfaces. All images were backlit to accentuate the carved surfaces and laser etched translucent areas that connect the raised lines and shapes.  The superimposed photographs are presented as an illuminated work, precisely positioned in the irregular pattern of lit windows seen at night.

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