|
[Click on image to select artist]
Syracuse University Library
– Special Collections Research
Center
|
Feels by Craig Wischerath
Fine Arts, Senior
Like the other complete books Craig has made, Feels
is an exercise in complete artistic control. He writes, "The ultimate
goal is to create a book that demonstrates a creative concept with original
content and a standard of craftsmanship that all come together to make
a comprehensive whole. The importance of Feels is not the complete realization
of that goal, but the exercise of it. More specifically, Feels is a book
about tactility and emotion in a visual and physical language."
This work was inspired by William Blake's Songs of Innocence.
The facsimile illustration shows the title-page of William
Blake's Songs of Innocence. This can be considered one of the first
artist's books having been authored, illustrated, and produced by Blake.
"Illuminated printing," a relief etching method Blake developed
allowed him to not only simplify production by directly drawing on the
plate, but also keep all facets of creation and production together. The
acid would then eat away the unpainted surface, leaving the design in
relief and ready for inking and printing. As Blake did not use type for
the text of this work, this meant that he needed to write his text backwards,
a skill essential for engravers and printers. After printing, the illustrations
were hand-painted by Blake and his wife, Catherine. Syracuse University's
copy, created in 1789, is one of 33 known to exist.
Craig Wischerath is from Syracuse. He is a senior in the
Fine Arts Department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
|
