10.4.07

PHOTOGRAMS with found objects 91-93


The Strike
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992


The quick Screw and the Silent Massacre
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992


2 Fish Skins Photogramed
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992


Baby Finch Skin
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992


Lizards on My Window Screen
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992


Jon-Erik's Ying and Yang
8'' x 10'' Photogram
1992

A photogram is a photographic image made (without a camera) by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photo paper and then exposing it to light. The result is a silhouetted image varying in darkness depending on the transparency of the found objects,with areas of the paper that have not received any light appearing light and those that are appearing dark, according to the laws governing photosensitivity. The image that is attained is a negative and the resulting image is quit similar to an X-RAY. This method of art image making is attributed to Man Ray and his experiments with "rayographs". Others who have experimented with this technique are Lazlo Moholy-Nagy,Christian Chad,Imogen Cunningham and Mr. Pablo Picasso.
Personally I feel photograms are printmaking with white light. Below are examples of using the tanned fish hides and found objects to create prints with light. Each was hand developed black and white photogram prints on Ilford paper with objects I have collected over the years from my artistic travels. To have a Cabinet of Curiosities within my art studio is truly inspiring.
Below you will find a few examples from an exstensive body of photograms, many were sold to patrons of the arts before they could be documented.



Title: "Underwater Landscape"
Medium: Hand pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 8 X 10
Date: 1991



Title: "Fish and Dragonfly Form"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size:8 X 10
Date: 1991



This is a detail shot from the above photogram.



Title: "Photogram Collage"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1992



Title: "Found Object Collage #1"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1992



Title: "Found Object Collage #2"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1992



Title: "Bat,Church windows and Dragonflies"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1992



Title: "Creek Chad"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1993



Title: "In the Detroit River"
Medium: Hand Pulled Photogram on Ilford Paper
Size: 11 X 14
Date: 1993

9.4.07

1989 Fluidic Abstraction

Discovering the wonders of fluid and the intuitive interpretations, I left the silk screen inks behind and moved onto India inks.
Below are a few pieces from the experiments with coloured fluid and air and a simple colour theory. Pouring the inks onto the surface of the rag paper and blowing the fluid with a brass blow pipe was the process. The found object was the recorded image left in the ink stains. It was a primitive attempt at capturing marks within the space of the paper and again utilizing intuitive aspects inherent within the visual artist.This was an early attempt at exploring the many doorways of the found object.



Title: "Order and Chaos"
Medium: India Ink on rag paper
Size: 22" X 30"
Date: 1989



Title: "The Wind in the Trees"
Medium: India Ink on rag paper
Size: 22" X 30"
Date: 1989



Title: "Order and Chaos #5"
Medium: India Ink on rag paper
Size: 22" X 30"
Date: 1989

EARLY EXPERIMENTS IN ABSTRACTION

After the silkscreen experiments, I was more connected with the liquidy screen inks. I discovered they were very fluid.
The following is a few examples of abstract painting. The theory being that I was attracted to the liquidness of the wonderful colours directly from the can. The way the colour dripped off the stick in one continuos stream was visually exciting. I was experimenting at the time with every aspect of the found object. I was painting intuitively in space above the paper and the drips were the recording of my drawings in the space above the paper. Its on the artistic plain as Jackson Pollock, yet here I am drawing a portrait in the air and the paper is recording the image as it falls to earth. The final drip painting in my opinion is the found object. The portrait was discovered in empty space and gravity created what I envisioned.



Title: "Intuitive Portrait with Blue, Yellow, and Red".
Medium: Dripped silk screen ink on Paper.
Size: 16" X 23"
Date: 1988
Note: The signature was signed in space also.



Title: "Intuitive Portrait #2"
Medium: Dripped silk screen ink on paper
Size: 24" X 25"
Date: 1988
Note: The signature was signed in space.



Title: "Intuitive Portrait #7"
Medium: Dripped silk screen ink on paper
size: 23" X 29"
Date: 1988



This is a detail shot of the thinness of the dripped lines from marks created in fluidic empty space.



Title: "Portrait of Sherri"
Medium: Dripped silk screen ink on paper
Size: 24" X 37"
Date: 1988

1988 EARLY SILK SCREEN

Silk screen printmaking was another form of image creation attempted.
I created a few editions for the mere aspect of trying it.



Title: "Marsh Sillouette"
Medium: Silk Sreen on Paper
Size: 24" X 14"
Date: 1988

8.4.07

EMBOSSING FISH SKINS

This chapter I will discuss the procedure for preparing fish skins for the embossed print making process. The following descriptions should give a relative idea what is involved with the process of utilizing flora and fauna for nature prints and the spiritual connection as the artist.



Here I have collected some filleted fresh water fish from a local fishing camp. The fish cadavers are soaked in Methyl Hydrate(Engine Alcohol) for about a week to remove the fish grease and to sterilize them.



The desired specimens are skinned with a scalpel from nose to tail. The dorsal fins are also left attached as so to acquire a good image for conservation and documentation.



Once the skinning process is complete, the fish hides are stapled to a tanning board. With powdered borax I massage the borax on the flesh side of the skin. This absorbs left over fish oil and keeps beetles and wasps from eating the skin. Borax also eliminates the odor of dried fish and keeps the smell from attracting raccoons. There is another purpose for using borax, thats so to keep mice from nibbling on the specimans that took hours to prepare. In the early stages of experimenting with tanning the bird or fish skin, I was disappointed with going into the tanning shack in the morning to retrieve the tanning boards, as so to hang out in the sun, and they were chewed to pieces. It was a very important ritual to take care of the biological specimans once they were on the tanning board. Spring and summer was spent collecting the species as well as preparing them, the fall and winter was the time to print them in the studio.



This is a prepared sunfish skeleton. It is ready for printing. This fish has oil based inks rubbed onto its surface and with a Q-tip, the colour has been applied into the crevices and hard to reach places. This stage of the process is an extremely delicate procedure. Time and patience has to be maximized during the applying of colour by hand, for I am after the coloured impression. Sloppy inking = sloppy print image = wasting an expensive piece of archival rag paper. Now that the fish is covered in ink, I use a cloth and wipe off all the ink. In theory the wiping removes surface ink, leaving ink in the surface textures. This is what gives a detailed embossing...the pores within scales, feathers , skin and bone are what hold the ink.
Once the found object from nature is ready, it is laid on the steel printing press bed. The paper which I use is archival rag paper,usually 120pnd ARCHES or SUMMERSET paper from FRANCE, and it is soaked for one hour. When the time limit is up, the paper is removed and hand held to drip dry over the water basin.

Placing the damp rag paper in between 2 towels, hand pressure is applied to the towels to remove anymore surface water on the paper. In theory, the damp rag paper is almost like soft clay, thus allowing the press pressure to compress in and around the flattened three dimensional object. The point being, is to acquire an embossed print without having the sheet of paper with holes and pressure tears.

When the damp paper is ready, it is removed from between the towels and gently placed over the inked objects from nature.
Then three layers of felt blankets are placed over top of the paper. Now I am ready to turn the wheel of the printing press.
As the wheel is turned , the press bed with the object, the paper and the felts are fed between 2 steel rollers, which in turn exerts 2000pnds of pressure per square inch onto the found object. After the press bed has passed under the rollers, the press bed comes out the other side. The felts are lifted and the paper is ever so gently lifted from the surface of press. The object that was pressed, lays on the bed, and I am left with its embossed image in the paper.



Here is the same sunfish skeleton embossed into the paper. The pressure picked up the details and the colour came along with it. Its a fossil in paper. Its textured and wonderfully detailed. As an artist, it did not have to be drawn or sketched. The image is directly created from the source. Its the best way to show love of natural history. Albrecht Durer always stated that if one can grasp it from nature, one truly has it. He was right!!



Here is a view of the press bed with inked objects laid down and ready for printing. There are zinc plates in and amongst found objects from nature. There is 5 etched zinc plates, 4 bird feet, a mouse skin, a blue heron head, 2 fish skins, a small dried tree frog, a fox snake skin, a large bullfrog skin, along with a mallard wing. This is the stage where the damp paper is laid over top.



Here is a detail section shot of the objects from nature on the press bed. The dark plate is a zinc plate with a detailed engraving of a fish skull.



This is the final print with all the previous objects you saw laid out on the press bed.
Title: "Self Portrait at 24"
Medium: Hand pulled Embossed Print
Size: 22" X 29"
Date: 1993



Once and edition of prints are pulled, they are hung on a wire to dry.



As for the spiritual connection with my art making, its a personal choice to send back to mother earth, the tanned skins and animal bones after I no longer need them. I am a artist that is merely suspending the wonders of nature from DECAY. My work is about conservation and to have the ability to suspend beauty from decay is one that requires some type of honor.
Sometimes people will bring me deceased animals they find on their personal journeys to see if I am able to utilize them in my art making practice. This is a document photo of myself returning to the cosmos a Loon that was covered in oil. This majestic bird was slick with oil and I couldn't utilize it, so its body and spirit were sent home, respectfully buried by the creek.

6.4.07

PAPER MAKING

When I decided to study printmaking, I also discovered the wonders of making my own art paper.
Below are a few examples of pushing the ingredients of paper making to boundaries which again would incorporate the found object. It occurred to me that making ones own paper is a bit like alchemy. I discovered the wild paper making wasps nests from our meadow and the recycling of one months personal garbage, as material for paper making. Grass clippings, marsh plant fibers, seeds and down from the milk weed and even the feathers from our farm animals were made into paper. The found object made its way into the paper pulp bath and as the screen was lifted through the slurry, swayed back and forth, thus locking into the wet fibers of the paper...an object of art.



Title: "COKE CANS"
Medium: Found Objects embedded into Paper
Size: 20.5" x 15"
Date: 1990



Title: "BEER CAN"
Medium: Found Objects embedded into Paper
Size: 20" X 15"
Date: 1990



Title: The Polluted Innosense"
Medium: Embedded Mummified Goldfish into Paper
Size: 14" X 12"
Date: 1990



Title: "Hand Made Paper with Wasps Nests and Dried Dogfish Skin"
Medium: Found Object Embedded into Paper
Size: 22" X 14"
Date: 1990



Title: "6 Geese at the Beach"
Medium: Hand Made Paper with Ground up Garbage and Acrylic Painted Image.
Size: 28" X 21"
Date: 1990

Early Gyotaku Prints 1990

The First Experiments in Fish Rubbings
Below are some early experiments with rubbing fish skins on paper.



Title: "Silver Bass" (4 of 7)
Medium: Direct fish rubbing on Rice Paper
Size:11.5" x 16"
Date: 1990



Title: "Carp"
Medium: Direct Fish Rubbing on Rag Paper
Size: 14" x 11"
Date: 1990



Title: "Feeding in the Lilies"
Medium: Direct Fish Rubbing and Water-lily Rubbing on watercolour stained rag paper.
Size: 29" X 20"
Date: 1990
Note: This year opened up to the discovery of Japanese Gyotaku prints. My studies were spent at the Library researching
Leonardo Da Vinci codex's for use of found objects in nature and to the discovery at The Museum of Natural History, collections of Gyotaku references. I was inspired by what I discovered.

Early Prints 1987-1990

Examples of Early Prints from the Portfolio of Jon-Erik:



Title: "Self Portrait at 19"
Medium: Wood Block Print on Rice Paper
Size: 16" x 21"
Date: 1987



Title: " Serpent Seven"
Medium: Lino Block Cut
Size: 17.5'' x 11.5''
Date: 1987



Title: "Nude #3" (7 of 7)
Medium: Zinc Plate Etching on Rag Paper
Size: 5" x 8"
Date: 1987



Title: "Figure with Flowers"
Medium: Wood Block Print on Rice Paper Stained with Watercolour
Size: 12'' x 2.5''
Date: 1988



Title: "Fisherman" (3 of 7)
Medium: Zinc Plate Etching on Rag Paper
Size: 4.5'' x 4.5''
Date: 1988



Title: "Movement" (2 of 7)
Medium: Zinc Plate Etching on Rag
Size: 9'' X 3.5"
Date: 1988
The following prints are the very first examples of embossing found objects from nature.
In theory the objects are inked and laid on a printing press bed with damp rag paper laid over top.
A 3 layer sheet of felt is placed on top. The printing wheel is turned and the objects get pressed with about 2000pnd per square inch of pressure. The pressure, prints the objects into the paper leaving a textured imprint.



Title: "Pressed Dragonflys"
Medium: Inked and Embossed Found Objects on Rag Paper
Size: 6.5" x 11"
Date: 1988



Title: "Pressed Coke Can" (3 of 11)
Medium: Embossed Found Object without the use of ink.
Size: 6" x 8"
Date: 1988



Title: "What Do You Think" (1 of 6)
Medium: Hand Pulled Lithography Print
Size: 14" x 18"
Date: 1989



Title: "Take Me Away" (5 of 5)
Medium: Wood Block Print With Water Colour Stained Rag Paper.
Size: 22" X 10"
Date: 1990



Title: "Baby Rabbit"
Medium: Acrylic Painted Rabbit Rubbed onto Rag Paper.
Size: 13" X 15"
Date: 1990



Title: "Sleeping Nude"
Medium: Lino Block on Rice Paper.
Size: 15" X 12"
Date: 1990



Title: "Reclining Nude"
Medium: Lino Block on Rice Paper
Size: 15" X 12"
Date: 1990