The pattern on the ceiling matches the tiles on the floor in the 808 Gallery at Boston University. In midday sunlight, it's not so incredible to think you might forget which way is up. The wall on the left is startlingly similar to the wall on the right, and at any time of the day, it's easy to think you might double take upon seeing one right after the other. Stand in one end of the gallery and you'll find yourself surrounded on both sides by black and white interpretations of bare tree branches in silhouette. Different walls, different artists, different techniques, even; yet you might still double take.
The Boston Printmakers 2007 North American Print Biennial show is a vast exploration into the various methods of printing and reprinting the same images over and over. That's what printmaking is - inscribing an image on a matrix to be reproduced in multiple.
But this exhibition takes the concept to a different level, in that the subjects of the pieces are very redundant. There are only so many ways to look at the same nondescript cityscape, urban boulevard, skyscraper looking up from below and power lines.
When a figure is included in a piece, it is always the same moody, forlorn figure floating in a turbulent sea of graphics. It must have been a very sad day for that model, whoever he was, but he had some endurance to be able to emote so effusively and consistently.
In the fog of repetition that hangs heavy in the gallery, there are beacons of originality tucked away in the corners. The small collection from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) is compact but impressive. The artists in this group take the most risks and use some of the more process-heavy printmaking methods.
The group consists of a number of intaglio prints, which involve etching images into the surface, usually made of metal. In some techniques, the marks are etched into a waxy ground, and then burned into the metal using an acid bath. This allows the artist to print, then reapply ground and go back into the image to enhance tones and deepen shadows. Intaglio styles include engraving, etching, mezzotint, aquatint, chine-colle and drypoint.
An aquatint titled "Animal/Object" by Erin Woodbury is especially interesting in approach and concept. Three black and white diptychs hang one on top of another. The left panels appear to be silhouettes of inanimate objects, while the right panels feature similarly formed silhouettes of animals. It's a unique commentary on the visual parallels that exist in the world.
There is remarkable breadth within a display of just 12 or 15 pieces. From a Japanese woodcut-inspired lithograph titled "Mme. Butterfly," to a small, poetic, yet almost clinical representation of a jellyfish in intaglio. Standing back from the MFA wall and taking it in as a whole, one gets an inherent sense of motion from all of the pieces. They are more passionately composed and better executed than many of the other works, both student and professional alike.
Amongst all the monotony throughout the rest of the exhibit, there are some other notable pieces. Gene Chu's lithograph "Nameless Civilians III" is like an old-fashioned motion study meets Mexican Dia de Los Muertos imagery. Tiny white figures twist and turn in little black cubicles in an expansive grid across the page. It is visually impressive and an interesting concept.
A large installation piece is hidden in a poorly lit corner of the gallery, but makes an impression nonetheless. The floor-to-ceiling paper is covered with subtly tinted blue polygons that fit together in such a way that from afar mimics water flowing over the wall. At the base of the piece sits a white box filled with 3D versions of the polygons on the wall constructed of the same paper. It is an innovative use of the Japanese woodblock technique.
The exhibition is meant to be a survey of the best of printmaking in the Greater Boston area. Yet it falls short of impressive. Much of the work seems forced and academic, more like a high school art show than a collection of important professional works towards advancements in the field of printmaking. For that, you'll have to talk to the students at the SMFA.
