Bellamy Printz
Taking Cover, Bosphorus, Turkey, 1974 - Mixed Media Monoprint, 16" x 18", 2018
BELLAMY'S STATEMENT ON THIS PIECE: My mother brought me up to be a traveler, and I have passed that to my own children. Taking Cover, 1974 is based on an image taken during a day-sail on the Bosphorus with friends while we were in Turkey. After many years, I discovered the slides that had been shot by my parents and me (at age 9) and loved how they documented the day and feeling of the voyage. This piece reflects a new technique that I have been working with, where loose ink toner is printed over watercolor monoprints. Each print is absolutely unique. This is totally experimental, and I am really enjoying making these prints.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT ON HER WORK My work explores issues of memory, time, and incident. The sentient experience of a moment and the physical reminder of a photograph are primary points of departure in my working process. I am an only child of only children, and so have been the recipient of hundreds of family snapshots dating back to the turn of the century. Both my father and grandfather were extremely active amateur photographers, and as a result, my interest in this type of image making has been almost genetically predispositioned. As an artist trained in printmaking, I look to the photo as a source, rather than the end result. Through the process of discovery, manipulation and layering, I find that my emotional and intellectual connection to the family archive increases, allowing deeper understanding of all aspects of the act of taking the shot--the objective of the taker, the gaze of the subject, and the spontaneous moments that are captured with the snap of the shutter. It is this precise moment, suspended in time that I find most engaging. By focusing on these, I have been able to embark on a rediscovery of the snapshot. bellamyprintz.com |