2013

Arthritis /  by Joe Olney

etch5

Arthritis (series) (top: current state )  intaglio  plate: 12x16, paper: variable

I started this etching series thinking of the wood panel pieces I made earlier this year. Much like how sanding into plies of wood and glue creates an object/image, the process of drypoint (sanding and scribing), etching, and aquatint also creates an object/image. The main difference being that the final image in intaglio comes from the inked surface of that object.

This series was very much a reactive process whereby one image begat another in response to what came before it. I was not aiming at an end point image, and I do not consider this series finished. It will go on as long as the plate holds up to the abuse. This may take quite a long time, but the point is that with the process of intaglio, one does not need to stop working or responding just because something seems finished or resolved. It can go on and on and on until the plate has been eroded away.

I enjoy this process very much because it allows me to take "snapshots" with each working- and state-proofs. I should mention that no editions were made for any of the states. One or two prints were taken for each state and I moved on. In this way, no state is more or less important than any other.