Mezzotint

Peter Marshall (petermarshall@cix.compulink.co.uk)
Sun, 25 Jan 1998 10:12 +0000

I was looking at some fantastic mezzotints in a show at the Fitzwilliam
Museum in Cambridge yesterday by an American artist whose name I've
forgotten for the moment - mainly views from his studio window - including
the Yankee stadium at night.

In large part these appear to have been made using photographs as a
reference by using tracing paper and a biro to transfer outlines, and then
working on the plate entirely by hand. One of the things I was wondering
looking at these was whether it was possible to use a controlled etching
process on the rocked mezzotint place with a variable thickness gelatine
layer to transfer a photograph - the etching should smooth the surface by
removing the peaks in a similar way to burnishing, thus lightening the
tone.

I've not come across anyone doing this - but it is an area of printmaking
that I'm not well-informed in, so I'd be interested to hear more.

Also in Cambridge - at Kettles Yard until 1 March - are some extremely
large photograms made on stream beds and in the sea at night using both
conventional silver materials and Cibachrome - worth a look.

Peter Marshall

On Fixing Shadows and elsewhere:
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~ds8s
Family Pictures, German Indications, London demonstrations &
The Buildings of London etc: http://www.spelthorne.ac.uk/pm/