High Hopes for Senior Thesis

pictures?

2009-10-08T17:27:00.003-04:00

still trying to figure out how to make the pictures bigger :/ bear with me... all you people (i.e, like 3)

Latest Works

2009-10-08T15:20:00.005-04:00

My works vary from medium to medium, and are not necessarily contained within the printmaking genre. I thoroughly enjoy drawing, and any medium that will allow my style to permeate will always be important. As a quick overview of what my work below entails, i'll do my best to describe how each process works.

Each printmaking medium is defined by the matrix that is used. A matrix is a simple term for a piece of wood, metal, plastic or stone that an image can be repeated. Some methods, intaglio for instance, are printed with ink that sits beneath the surface plane of the matrix. Other methods, such as lithography or relief are printed with the ink laying on top of the surface.

Lithography

Lithographs are a printmaking medium that rely on the antipathy of grease and water. Lithographs can be printed from aluminum plates with a special coating, or porous limestone slabs. The image itself is created by drawing on the plate or stone with a grease pencil or various greasy media. A grease pencil contains a certain potency of grease, and an amount of ink. Images can be created by drawing, painting, spraying, and scratching into the plate. Areas untouched by grease will remain white, while heavier applications will print black (or whatever color you choose). Lithograph processing and printing are amazingly complex series of processes that involve cleansing, washing, and etching with acid, and it would take me at least 3 hours to write down exactly how and why, so we'll just leave the 'how' to 'magic'.

Etching

Etchings utilize metals as a matrix and acid to corrode the surface, which allows ink to be squeegeed within. Plates are prepared for image making by covering areas that you wish to remain white, and then scratching through to reveal metal underneath. This exposed metal will corrode when bit. 'Biting' a plate (dipping the plate into acid) creates valleys and grooves that become deeper with longer times submerged in the acid. Printing the metal plate utilizes wet paper, run through a press, which can sink deep down into the wells and soak up as much ink as possible.

Relief

Relief prints are created by using wood or linoleum blocks. Arguably the simplest and most force-intensive print medium, relief prints are most often created by carving away areas that you wish to remain white (or without color). Multiple blocks are sometimes used for different colors, or you can use one block, and cut it in a sequential way, called reduction, in which you would print your lightest color first, then cut more away from the same block, and print a darker color on top in the areas that have block in tact. (These images are partially relief (bottom) and part lithography (top), with text written with letterpress*)

The first set of images is from a book that i created in the spring semester of Junior Year, where i incorporated images from a book that had written in kindergarten, and re-imagined as a 20-year old (read the last page for a better explanation).

Letterpress

Letterpress is printed in a similar way as relief. Letterpress involves small blocks of wood or metal that have been fabricated with premade letters at a certain height. Individual letter forms are placed into a press and locked into place, ink is rolled across the surface, and then pressed into paper.

Commencement

2009-10-08T15:06:00.002-04:00

And so it begins: my senior year. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this whole project, and i've come to the conclusion that i am not a conceptual thinker. Coming up with a single theme to carry throughout all my work is hard, but i also believe that i've come up with something personal that can span the multitude of facets that printmaking involves.

So for this post, i've decided to post my thesis statement/notes as of late:

'I want my work this semester to be able to tell stories of what happens in life, whether it be good or bad: things such as relationships, major turning points in, and other significant instances that are universal, by using a gear as a metaphor. The best part about using a gear is that the metaphor that it can imply could be attributed to anybody or anything: people, personalities, moments in time, relationships, etc. A gear by itself is a simple thing. When you combine multiple gears together, and add a power source, they form a machine. Gears come in many shapes and forms, but they all have similar qualities, each of which has the potential to be attributed to multiple significances. A gear by nature, has a central pivoting point, a set number of teeth, designed to a specific ratio, and an unfortunate habit of only interlocking with other gears of similar ratios. Gears can also imply themes that are synonymous with cohesion, time, cooperation, and unity, all of which are part of important parts of life.

I believe that I won’t truly grow up until you can live your days in complete control of what makes you happy. Despite being 2I, I’m still a kid. I’m in the midst of discovering whom I want to be when my goals are fully realized. I’m exploring adulthood through the medium of art. The gears of my life are still trying to arrange themselves together. I refuse to grow up and settle down until my machine works like a new watch. Until then, I’m going to keep exploring, traveling, making mistakes and hopefully learning from them.

The heart is a simple thing. It’s capable of deciding for itself very easily, and it’s basic enough to fit many roles. The mind is what turns simple occasions into complex issues. You’ve got to be able to match the two in order to be content.

Its hard to align your gears together, but every once in a while, someone comes along who can bridge the gap.'

During the beginning of the semester, i had a lot of personal fire burning, and imagemaking and idea conceiving was irritatingly abundant. In the past few weeks, however, my life has changed for the better. Since this change in mood, however, it has become more difficult to come up with imagery that is still personally meaningful, and yet broad enough to be able to transcend the gap between image and onlooker.

but, as the great Paul Rudd once said,

"When life gives you lemons, just say fuck the lemons and bail. Look, if you get bitten by a shark, you're not just gonna give up surfing, are you?"

"Yea... probably"

New method:

2009-06-06T09:35:00.002-04:00

Per your comments, it seems a different approach is needed. Keeping it vague would be easier anyway.

Broad themes such as

Adventure

Printmaking

Destiny

Music

(list will be added onto)

... that music thing was an idea that i had the other day. Perhaps i could make a print, and then also make it a multimedia presentation, with a cd player or something underneath, where you're supposed to listen to a certain song when you look at the piece.

That could be cool.

words of wisdom: Part I

2009-06-05T22:49:00.001-04:00

Alright, I finally read the whole thing carefully. That is a lot to take in.

My first impression is that it does sound like a book evolving. I think you have LOTS going on and the story needs some clarification/editing. Big time. I think I know where this is coming from, you also make it fairly obvious in your statement.

Being the peacemaker, I think it may not be a good idea to obviously vilify another media...just thinking here...stay with me.

I am thinking about your work to date, that "fantasy" print shop etching, the gears, the planets. There is a mystery there that is very compelling. Evocative. Interesting. I worry that with your whole thesis riding on this one story that it gets too specific and doesn't allow much wiggle room for the viewer. There is a clash/struggle/discourse in the use of these images that show objects and spaces that are antiquated in a contemporary setting. Just the fact that you are choosing to use this imagery makes your statement for you. You are making art, using very old technology, of very old technology. It is CLEAR where your heart lies.

You don't need to beat people over the head with a specific narrative. You draw them in with a whisper. Lead them, but don't tell them. Also, by not being very specific, you also allow a viewer who doesn't want to engage in this story a chance to just appreciate something that is GORGEOUS!

If you want to show a specific clash of old and new think about how technology has changed and morphed. Look at the tools. The way you would have to open up a machine to find the gears, open up a computer to find the inner workings. Wouldn't it be cool if you found not only the differences, but also the common ground? What about diptychs? Can you make what is ugly to you in content, stunning to us visually.

Rambling, I know...but you got my brain going...

Subtle. Geoff. Try to find a quiet way to talk about this stuff.

I wish I could come up with some artists for you to look at...give me a while and I will try to get you some names.

BTW, so great that you are thinking about this NOW! The dialog is so important so that when you get back to campus you can hit the ground running!

Inkteraction

2009-06-04T20:15:00.001-04:00

Inkteraction is basically like facebook for printmakers. Lame name, but its a good idea.

Here's my page:

Inkteraction

Artwork already online

2009-06-04T19:58:00.003-04:00

Here's some jpegs on deviantArt of some of my things. Most of them are pre-junior year of college. More will be posted on this blog, rather than on that site.

http://geoffsilvis.deviantart.com/

CCP Miniature Print Competition

2009-06-04T19:45:00.007-04:00

So, each year, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking hosts an International Miniature Print Competition, of which, this year, I participated in.

Many millions of thanks to Tony Kirk, Master Printer and Artistic Director of the CCP for encouraging me to enter. (And probably for helping my piece to get as far as it did :D )

In the spring of 2009, Tony was a visiting artist at the Hartford Art School, and told all of us in his etching II class to partake in this once-a-year chance to be in an international competition. It would boost our resumes, and by golly, its about time we started. Each piece had a maximum size requirement of 4 square inches. Sadly, I was the only one of my classmates to enter, but it turned out to be a truly amazing reward:

http://www.contemprints.org/content.php?navid=24&cid=484

Yup, thanks to T.K., my piece (Hands of Time (near the bottom)) not only made it into the show, but was awarded a purchase prize by Legion Paper.

By the by, the piece isnt listed under G.Silvis (as all of my prints are now) but MOTHOP, which was a funny concept, but a poor choice of alias in the end :/

But regardless, hooray for T.K. pullin some major strings :D

Ideas

2009-06-04T19:08:00.006-04:00

So, I've been trying to decide what to do for my thesis, and as of late, i've got some cool ideas, but nothing to hold it all together.

Basically, i want to have the idea/premise based around a central character, or group of characters, who come to realize that their lives in their homeland were much more personally valuable than the new places that they discover.

Metaphorically, i want to discuss the story in terms of how much sweeter printmaking is than say... graphic design (the so-called new-age savior of artists, and the 'only way to make it' in this modern age).

How this storyline goes, however, i am unsure. I've got a few ideas, based on previously recognized plot schemes:

Apocalypto-style:

Here, our characters would be in happyfunprintmakingland, but would be abducted by digital/robotic creatures from the (opposite place our characters are from)... After being enslaved for a short time, they escape, and lead the rest of the slaves (artists) out of digital-dom, and back to the totally sweet landscapes of happyfunprintmakingland, with help from the printmaking gods (in the form of printmaking-transformer-type automatons). (B+)

Taken (a la mode)

In this storyline, our character loses a friend to an evil country across the sea, who becomes enslaved and forced to work long hours and with unfair wages, in a hardly equitable work environment. Our hero creates his tools with which to rescue said friend, and travels to the ends of the world in order to bring them (and everybody else he finds) to the wonderful kingdom of happyfunprintmakingland. (B+)

One that i dont know if its from a movie or not-style

This one, which is the one that i find to be the most original, though not the best, involves our character being tricked by an evil wizard. The wizard tells our hero that amazing things can be found in another land to the east. The only way to get there, however, is to find a series of objects strewn about happyfunprintmakingland, and give them to the wizard so that he could help our hero get to the land. He gets the objects, makes a map, gives it to our buddy, and sends him off into the wilderness. Hopping aimfully through the woods and over the hills, meeting scary 'monsters' along the way, all of whom tell him to go back and stay away from the gate leading to the other world.

Our hero, stubborn as he is, doesn't listen. He just keeps goin, and eventually makes it through to the gate, passes through, and upon entering the other side, gets kidnapped and is forced to work in those unfair conditions that i described in the previous tale. He vows to escape and to destroy the digital king ruling over the slaves.

So, as you can see, i've got some basic themes running throughout all of my ideas so far:

- big, epic landscapes

- happyfunprintmakingland

- printmaking transformers

- graphic design can 'save it'

Not sure where it's all heading so far, but clearly, the parts of each story can be interchanged and compiled to make a good story, but i dont know if i've got enough to support a solid idea. Easily enough to make a solid body of work, but its not conducive yet.

Basic ideas that i want this thesis to entail:

Book:

I really want this to be a self-written, original story, that can be printed in its entirety in a small pamphlet (10-ish pages, no bigger than 5x9), and also one full-scale book, with each page being its own print, with interlocking imagery and text. For the show, i would love to have each pagespread in its own frame, with the pamphlet books placed on the ends so that the viewers could not only read the words in the frames, but also take the books home to remember.

The pamphlets would be relatively simple. No super-fancy cover pages (but then again, im an admitted over achiever, and who knows where that could go.), and small, perhaps size 14 font, justified type to tell the story.

The full-size pagespreads would be upwards of 15 inches tall, by 24-30 inches wide. Large, yes. Do-able? Maybe. Totally sweet if i could pull it off? Hellllllls yea.

Relatively muted scheme of basic colors. Sepia tones, blacks, browns, reds, blues, greens, and perhaps some yellow/oranges.

I've got high hopes... as always, so we'll see how my stories evolve.

Images for Inspiration: Landscapes

2009-06-03T22:48:00.001-04:00

So these images were found online, just to give me some inspiration for the sort of epic-ness that I'm looking for in my upcoming semester.

Despite my aversion to graphic design and computer-art, I gotta admit, these artists have their shit together.