Phyllis Seltzer
St. George over the city of Venice, Archival Heat Transfer Print - 45" x 51”
Artist's Statement:
The work that I have produced for the past several decades is narrative and has consisted mostly of 'scapes', studies of cities as well as studies of industry. Areas of cities are often times 'hidden' – obscured from city dwellers. By using aerial views one is able to see the whole or parts of the city from different vistas. By incorporating as well the city dweller, pertinent to an aspect of the city, one can read the occurrences, e.g., wind, the geography, and the activity of the city. A recent China Series is representative of a series of photos taken in China – these photos comprise a quadrant of views of Chinese in their architectural landscape and in their varied activities. Within the 'scape', water and sky play important roles. Art history plays an important role in new works, e.g., Luca Signorelli's murals from the chapel in Orvieto, Italy, are reconfigured into a series of paintings concerning Tuscany, its history and its landscape. Color in the paintings and prints is always extremely bright and high pitched. I utilize a saturated pallet to strengthen and become a strong element for the 'language of the work'. Cityscapes in current work have been changing for me in the studio since the 'siege' of September 11, 2001 and the Iraqi war. No longer can the cityscape be solely a vision. It is a meaningful, significant aspect of our humanity and our accomplishments as a productive society. Printmaking As a painter and printmaker with a background in architecture and the history of technology, I utilize the advanced technology of the laser printing machine in combination with heat transfer, a contemporary method that is archivally secure. Heat transfer printmaking permits an enormous amount of creativity in terms of coloration and assemblage, along with the advantage of immediacy. In traditional printmaking, e.g., intaglio, lithography, woodcut, or serigraphy, one develops an eye for line, form and color, connected to the tools used in each particular printing technique. The heat transfer process permits the exchange of thinking so that the black line is comparable to the 'incised' line of the burin on the copper plate of the intaglio process. If one is using areas of color, such as that exists in the aquatint of etching, these areas are thought of in terms of gradations of color and the imagery and textures placed upon the canvas are thought of as areas for use in printing and what the transition will be when printing these areas. It is a difficult transference but an integral part of an evaluation of how to approach the elements of a particular print on the laser printer. phyllisseltzer.com |