constant/variable (detail), 2016, photogravure with chine-collé on Stonehenge, 25in x 37in
constant/variable, presents a trapezium that eventually, through layers of depth formed by the transparent and reflective qualities of the glass, reveals a window that we can see the frame of on three sides. This window, extracted from its setting, presents a view into a room, through it and back outside while the reflections describe a setting of an angular future combined with leafy trees. Simultaneous visual access to various locations in space is disorienting and makes the setting hard to determine with so many perspectives to embrace, all at once. This feels somewhere between a real and an imagined space. In his book, Human Space, O. F. Bollnow describes windows as having the power to transport us to other places in our minds.
In 15th century Italy, Leon Battista Alberti described the picture frame as “an open window through which I see what I want to paint.” Painting is the original window into another world and the framed landscape painting in the window of this print is yet another portal for the imagination that leads to a field backed with evergreen trees and craggy mountain peaks. The landscape orientation of the paper mimics the painting which leans forward against the glass making it the most grounded object in the piece and leads the eye downward along the false vanishing point created by the canted glass window. Through the window a telephone pole and a pillar provide vertical lines that follow the right edge of the window bringing it to the foreground and establishing a slight sense of spatial understanding. But because this side of the window has no visible frame, it is unclear where it ends, suggesting that the window could be completed by doubling and flipping over itself. The paper appears to bulge slightly in the center because of this tension.
Artwork Info |
|
---|---|
Type of Work | framed print |
Medium | photogravure with gampi chine-collé on Stonehenge |
Dimensions | detail from 26in x 37in print |
Rights: All Rights Reserved
© 2024 PNCA, 511 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209-3404 • Map • PH: 503.226.4391 • Contact + Hours