So I've decided to use the collage extension project as an opportunity to explore the possibilities and limitations of linocut printing, which I've wanted to explore linocuts since I first came across the work of Art Spiegelman around four years ago...
Back in 2006 I was asked to design set, costume and publicity for "The Wild Party", a jazz musical based on a 1928 poem by Joseph Moncure March about the hedonistic debauchery and excess of the rouring twenties...
I got my hands on a copy of the original poem, primarily for research, and instantly fell in love with Spiegelman's linocut illustrations (added later in 1994) - perfectly dark, raw and stark with an almost tactile quality to them.
I decided to begin relatively simply, with one of my collages which I wasn't too intricate, but would perhaps work well in a bold linocut style; 'La Vie En Rouge'...
Having missed the opportunity to make it along to a linocut printing workshop in the print studio last term, I set about teaching myself the process, beginning by transferring the design onto a small A5 test-piece of lino, and then starting the cutting process...
As I expected, the cutting of the linoblock is time-consuming and at times, painful (it took me a few cut fingers to remember to keep my spare hand out of the way of the lino-cutter), but an interesting and satisfying process...My first prints were quick and rough, but useful, and confirmed that to get the level of detail and finish I wanted, I'd have to work on a larger scale...
That said, given the time-consuming nature of the process, I decided to compromise and work on an A3 block...
Having eventually completed the A3 linocut I set about experimenting with different print finishes, from well-inked block colours, to dry-ink textured finishes...
Ideally I would have liked to experimented further with reduction linocutting to add a second colour and extra level of detail, however working full time during the holiday and an impending VCT essay convinced me I'd have to make do with a single colour print...
In the spirit of the original collage, however, I did experiment with paper and ink to find the right manifestation of red... Ultimately, I opted for a stark, bold black on an all-consuming vibrant crimson most successully captured the title/caption of the piece and embraced the dark quality of the linocut...
All in all I'm happy with the quality of the final prints in that the lines are clean and the prints well-inked, although I think the design itself lacks punch and impact. Perhaps this could have been improved with the addition of a second colour through a reduction linocut, however in hindsight I don't think the original design fully embraces the dark, sinister and raw potential of the medium... If I were to embark on another linocut project I think I'd choose a subject matter with a little more edge and a design with a little more roughness and detail...
As an exploration into the possibilities and limitations of the medium though, definitely a useful process, and almost certainly one I'd like to explore further (when time permits!)...
Vive La Vie En Rouge!
