California State University, Northridge Salvage And

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE SALVAGE AND SYNTHESIS An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art by Dona J: Geib January, 1983 The Abstract of Dona J. Geib is approved: Kenan BreazeJle Vida Hackman Tom Fricano, Chair California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My compulsion to complete this graduate exhibition has been with the encouragement, stimulation and provoking advice of Tom Fricano, Kenan Breazeale and Vida Hackman. My family, sons Kurt and Kent, and especially my husband, Lorne, have worked extensively as collaborators, partners, jack-of-all trades and unpaid laborers. Without their help and consideration at a time when my attention was entirely single minded in purpose, I would indeed have felt the loss. To my artist/friends, neighbors and long-time family friends, thank you for your muscle, technical assistance and question answering and asking in time of need. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Introduction 1 Development 3 Technique I. Urban Discard Series - Intercalations 5 II. Urban Discard Series - Corrugated Sections 8 III. Urban Discard Series - House of Cardboard 11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 13 Figure 1 - Intercalations I 14 Figure la - Intercalations I (detail) 15 Figure 2 - Intercalation/Doubled 16 Figure 2a - Intercalation/Doubled {detail) 17 Figure 3 - Intercalation III 18 Figure 4 - Corrugated Sections IX 19 Figure 5 - Corrugated Sections XI 20 Figure 6 - Corrugated Sections XII 21 Figure 7 - Corrugated Sections XIV 22 Figure 8 - Corrugated Sections ~1 23 Figure 9 - Sections XVa 24 Figure 10 - Sections I, II, III and IV 25 Figure lOa - Sections I, II, III and IV (detail) 26 Figure 11 - Corrugated Sections X 27 Figure 12 - House of Cardboard 28 Figure 12a ·· House of Cardboard (detail) 29 iv ABSTRACT SALVAGE AND SYNTHESIS by Dona J. Geib Master of Arts in Art INTRODUCTION The 'unique' prints, assemblages and three dimension al printed paper sculpture in this exhibition are based 1 on the concept of recycling •urban trash ; those discarded cardboard dividers, containers, boxes and padding that are salvaged from the trash barrels and dumpsters of the local drugstores, supermarkets and neighborhood fast food chains. For the past several years I have been documenting the 'throw-away' mentality of our urban culture acting in an almost archeo-historian approach in that .recycling of these waste obje~t.s is a way o£ depicting the landscape/ cityscape that is so familiar to us here in Southern Cali fornia. Architecture here is so quickly put up and torn 1 2 down and reflects the ready acceptance of discarding our wrappings, be it indeed cardboard, corrugated cartons, or our tract homes, apartments, jobs, companions and often marriages. The reissuance or metamorphosis of these tacky card board discards through the media of printmaking, painting, drawing and assemblage allows the use of common materials to combine, reform, overlay and reshape. A new image is then synthesized and extracted, ready once again for future discard, salvage and synthesis. My intent is to take these discards and record, through illusion, their reanimation and redefinition in context with their new environmenta This is one way of stating that nothing is ever dest:royed, just reused in another form. 3 DEVELOPMENT Several years ago, I began incorporating found flat, unfolded product packaging and used product dividers into my prints; that is, die cut boxes or dividers that could be flattened and then reformed when needed. These original 'flat' pieces dealt only with the simple concept of package form, albeit salvaged. An original print called "Flat Wrapped" was printed a·s a collograph directly from the 'found' box and could be printed either flat or be cut out and then reformed into a new version of the original three dimensional 'found' box. This area of concentration was the precur99r of the 'i;)v fusing of conventional print techniques with the discard form. Salvaged material and the synthesis of that material then became a predominate thrust. A further evolutionary stage continued with the reuse of the package form and container innards by trans- formation of the actual cardboard into a flat neatly ar- ranged duplicate of the divider with a distinct archeo- logical nuance that suggested ancient tablets. Signifi 'c'olD cant to these prints was the continued discovery and un- earthing of the cardboard section from its urban site and its redefinition in a new artis·tic environment. Overlapping images of dividers with collaged printed cardboard discards was the main theme in the Interface series of prints. Over printing and cutting up previous 4 creations, reusing and recycling to make the new, were con sistent with my theory of rebirth. The newest developmental stage has resulted in the utilization of the 'pure• discard form as the basis of this thesis exhibition. 5 TECHNIQUES I. URBAN DISCARD SERIES - Intercalations Those 'throw-away' dividers of beer, catsup, vinegar, gatorade bottles and other glass containers were the be- ginnings of my search and obsession as an archeo-historian through and into our local dumpsters located behind almost every supermarket, fast food chain and department store in our urban surroundings. Not an alleyway nor street corner can be excluded in the search and salvage of these discards, ready and waiting for reanimation, recycling and reuse • .~' Intercalations I {figure 1) is a series of three- dimensional printed reuse of found cardboard bottle dividers. They have been acid etched, using a softground technique, redrawing into the original etch, rebiting and then flat biting again for texture and depth. The result ~ \ ing plate has been printed through the in~~g_lj~g method, with painting, dusting of metal powders and then the final print was cut out individually for actual assemblage into the varied, but essentially original shape of the first 'throw-away' trashed divider found in our local Dales Junior Supermarket at Parthenia and Lindley in Northridge. Use of 100% rag four-ply museum board to print on in- stead of the regular handmade print paper was further de- veloped to enable the actual restructuring of the print from archival rag rather than the 'found' cardboard itself. 6 The museum board, slightly dampened prior to the first printing, was then hand cut into about 45 individual dividers which were then reprinted on the reverse side so that as a three-dimens~onal sculptured print it coul,d be viewed from any angle allowing the newly printed surfaces to be observed. One of the significant reasons I chose these box-like dividers for reuse, was the cast shadow ~\· ·,\) and deep ~hi:Cl_J:'OI39_~~9 within their recesses which contrasts with the outside flat, but printed and painted surface. Intercalation/Doubled (figure 2), is the result of deciding to further ela.borate on the flat and three dimensional juxtaposition of these 'dividers' that can, in fact, either be assembled free standing, as in Intercalations I (figure 1), partially folded, or collapsed entirely. This print was intaglio printed with relief printing and painting directly on the paper and tt1e museum board. The layering aspects of collaging the cut-out dividers printed on 100% rag four-ply museum board, onto the flat· intaglio print on tan Rives BFK indicate the permutations that this intercalation can obtain; that is, to insert between or among existing elements or layers. Intercalation III (figure 3), is a five layered print, the bottom layer being an intaglio print on tan Rives BFK, with the upper four layers the remains of the 'cut-outs' from the three dimensional piece Intercalations I. Again, the layering, reuse and recycling of even these newly 7 printed pieces all become part and parcel of the original reuse theme of salvage and synthesis. 8 II. URBAN DISCARD SERIES - Corrugated Sections This series of 'unique' prints was initiated with an etched key plate using a softground technique for the pri mary image directly from a 'found' corrugated cardboard divider discovered and salvaged from the parking lot be hind Family Fabrics at Sherman Way and Lindley in Reseda. The softground was then re-etched into a redefined deep flat bite to enhance the grooves of the corrugated card board. The actual printing of this plate.required several steps since this particular series incorporated the use of intaglio printing, relief printing, painting directly on the plate, reprinting, painting on the actual finished print and then assemblage. Material selection for printing was critical to the final use of the particular print created. For instance, the print Corrugated Sections IX (figure 4), a three di mensional print measuring about 40" x 30" x 20", came into being through an actual 'find' in a dumpster and the use of the actual corrugated cardboard was essential for the print's design to be structurally sound as well as being compatible with my desire for recycling and redefinition. It was necessary to print on both sides of this print, re quiring at least 18 original print runs through the press, with an additional 20 to 30 print runs to do the relief printing. After the initial runs, the print was dried 9 and reprinted on the other side using a similar number of runs through the press. Each one of these prints, used as a part of the nine piece three dimensional print, was also painted, torn by hand or through accident of the •find'. It was essential that the corrugated cardboard be treated for archival stability and each piece of corrugated card board was sprayed on each side with a solution of bicarbon ate of soda, magnesium hydroxide and water in equal parts. This solution will alter the PH balance of the cardboard to archival specifications.

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