Squares

Rothko’s work is closely associated with the Color Field movement, compositions that rely on brush strokes, gestures, to create flat picture imagery and unbroken shapes. The paintings are simultaneously layered with deep meaning and nothing. While physically the composition has layers of surfaces evolving into a composition, there is no specific visual purpose. Audiences can become immersed within their own meanings. 

Curation fundamentally effects how an audience is witnessing / experiencing Rothko’s works. The Tate (London) chose clean crisp white walls, over-packed with visitors, there was no space for meditation of thought. The emphasis was to observe the technical brilliance of the painter. Whereas the contemporary arts museum in Milan opposite approach in painting walls black, low-lit rooms, hanging paintings casually without anxiety about appearing level. With barely any visitors one could just immerse themselves into a personal meaning within the work. 

Meaning making but who is making the meaning, audience or artist? Neither or both? Forming shapes and flatness was Rothko’s intention whilst applying layers of oil paint material. So what happens when using a similar layering method with material containing retained historical informational value? Does the process of meaning making alter perceptions? 

 Known as the Apostle to Kentucky, David Rice was a renowned anti-slavery Presbyterian minister, searching the items of the James Ford Bell Library I located a transcription of his lecture titled ‘Slavery inconsistent with justice and good policy’, delivered at Danville, Kentucky, 1792. The text provides us the modern audience an insight into the anti-slavery movement circa 60 years prior the American Civil War. In the context of the information’s origination date, the text would have been distributed to help persuade audiences of the immorality of slavery. 

My own experience with the text is digital – far removed from the business distribution model of the 18thcentury. The text is held within a bound volume, the parchment has undoubtably a rough texture when handling. Yet I can’t physically touch it for it doesn’t exist beyond my computer screen. It is transmitted via a held digital file surrogate on the library finding aid. 

Using the text as a substitute for oil paint, I started to replicate Rothko’s creative method by printing each page out on a single sheet of paper, allowing every layer of text to gradually make the paper un-usable by the printer. Gradually the historically text became totally lost within a black square (rectangle). Questions emerged as to is this collage art process my art, does a claim to the creative process belong to those who originally transcribed the information, does the technology have more claim to the artworks construction as all I did was to push a few buttons. 

The text’s distribution to interested audiences undoubtably shaped hearts, minds and opinions. Participating in a large array of texts campaigning to end Slavery, ultimately this movement influenced President Lincoln through-out his career. There is a power to transcription, a revealing of knowledge, a trust that the reveal is authentic to the information’s author. 

 Replicating the transcribing technique, I fully transcribed episode 21 of the Civil War Podcast concerning Lincoln’s Cooper Union address. Where he revealed the results of his historic study into the Founding Father’s perspectives and political actions concerning Slavery. In a firm factual rebuttal to Stephen Douglas’s pro-slavery propaganda. Lincoln comprehensively proved the Founding Father’s actions were weighted towards abolishment. 

Inspired by the vast collection of Abraham Lincoln literature (publications) held at Berea College Special Collections & Archive, a collection that is not as frequently accessed as you would expect. I started merging both the David Rice lecture, and my podcast transcription, with Matthew Brady’s Abraham Lincoln portraits (after seeing prints at Berea). New collage compositions started to form beyond just an absorbing black square (rectangle). Each layer made deeper marks with the printer ink, identifiable facial features were slowly lost with each layer. One composition I accidentally printed Lincoln’s portrait upside down which ended up creating a water like ripples. 

As an artist, creating collage compositions of such a manner allows me to share stories from history, history retained within our archive holdings. Historic texts, podcasts, photographic prints, being merged into single items is yet another unexpected output of a collage creative process.