1 Mapping Pinpoints Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of
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Mapping Pinpoints Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Léah Dwyer, B.F.A. Graduate Program in Art The Ohio State University 2020 Thesis Committee Sergio Soave, Advisor Suzanne Silver Gina Osterloh 1 Copyrighted by Léah Dwyer 2020 2 Abstract Mapping Pinpoints explores the intersection between mapping, repetition, copies and editions through a collection of altered pinboard panels, pierced mylar stencils and pounced toner powder prints. ii Dedication Dedicated to friends and family in Virginia, Columbus and St. Raphaël. Merci pour vos conseils – bises. iii Acknowledgments Thank you to my advisor, Sergio Soave, and committee members, Suzanne Silver and Gina Osterloh. Thanks to my fellow printmaking grads – your feedback was instrumental in completing my thesis work. iv Vita 2017....……...………………....................B.F.A., Printmaking, George Mason University 2017 to present…………………………..Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of …………………………………………...Art, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Art v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Mapping ............................................................................................................ 2 I. Mark Lombardi – Representing from a Single Perspective .................................... 3 II. Sophie Calle – Reimagined Connections ............................................................... 7 III. Raphael – Pierced Maps...................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Repetition ....................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 3: Copies & Editions ........................................................................................... 17 Moving Forward ............................................................................................................... 22 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 25 vi List of Figures Figure 1. Mark Lombardi’s Phil Schwab, CB Financial and Eureka Federal Savings c. 1981-6, 1997, Pencil on notebook paper, 11 x 14 in……………………………………...4 Figure 2. Piercing pin pricks through mylar stencil with bookmaking awl……………….6 Figure 3. Pierced mylar stencils taped across pinboard panels…………………………....6 Figure 4. Sophie Calle, The Hotel, Room 47, 1981, Photographs and ink, 2140 x 1420 mm……………………………………………………………………………………..…7 Figure 5. Pinboard panel (detail)……………………………………………………...…..8 Figure 6. Pierced mylar stencil overtop pinboard panel (detail)…………………………..9 Figure 7. Pounced toner powder print (detail)…………………………………………….9 Figure 8. Raphael, The School of Athens preparatory cartoon, c. 1510 – 1511………….10 Figure 9. Raphael, The School of Athens, c. 1510 – 1511, Fresco……………………….11 Figure 10. Pounced and heat-set mylar stencil (1)...……………………………………..12 Figure 11. Pounced and heat-set mylar stencil (2)...……………………………………..13 Figure 12. Pierced and heat-set mylar stencils (3)……………………………………….13 Figure 13. Agnes Martin, Stars, 1963, Ink, watercolor, paper, 12 x 12 in………………15 Figure 14. Stars (detail)………………………………………………………………….15 Figure 15. Mapping Pinpoints at Urban Arts Space, February 2020…………………….17 Figure 16. Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing, 2018……………………………………………..19 vii Figure 17. Pierced mylar stencil…………………………………………………………20 Figure 18. Toner powder prints (both originate from one stencil)………………………21 viii Introduction My thesis work investigates the intersection between mapping, repetition, copies and editions. The production and distribution of maps rely on a repetitive process of gathering and representing. Copies and editions – or iterations – oftentimes originate from a unique perspective, namely that of one individual. Within my thesis collection, I include altered pinboard panels, pierced mylar stencils and prints to act as source material, lenses through which to interpret information sets and varied maps, respectively. A ritualistic, process-based method of making and reimagining grounds my practice as a print artist and bookmaker. 1 Chapter 1: Mapping I study maps through Mark Lombardi’s graphite diagrams, Narrative Structures, Sophie Calle’s photograph series, The Hotel, Room 47, and preparatory cartoons – preliminary drawings whose outlines are pricked and used as guidelines for producing large-scale frescos – by Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael. Although my investigation of mapping is inspired by Lombardi and Calle, my thesis work does not share the same conceptual investigations. Lombardi’s drawings serve to reveal government conspiracies and Calle’s photographs present fictional links between individuals and objects. Specifically, my thesis work is influenced by Lombardi’s use of single perspective and Calle’s ability to propose connections, but not the particular conceptual origins of either’s practice. This body of work analyzes the relationships between past and present studio occupants, interactions among makers and pinboards, and connections between pinpoints. 2 I. Mark Lombardi – Representing from a Single Perspective Visual artist, Mark Lombardi, traces and communicates information through hand drawn maps. In his series of diagrams, Narrative Structures, he links fiscal data between private and federal groups to reveal political and financial conspiracies. Like mapmakers, Lombardi closely examines relationships by reorganizing and representing information sets in new ways. Lombardi’s claims in Narrative Structures present visual representations from a singular point of view. While his graphite diagrams are intriguing works of visual art, Lombardi’s attention was not on composition, form or visual balance. Rather, his maps aim to display reassembled and reworked sets of information for viewers. 3 Figure 1. Mark Lombardi, Phil Schwab, CB Financial and Eureka Federal Savings c. 1981-6, 1997, Pencil on notebook paper, 11 x 14 in Like Lombardi, I map connections. Although the pin pricks and their iterations on each print may seem visually appealing, mapping interactions between past and present studio occupants is my objective. In contrast with Lombardi, I work with information that originates from one environment. Prior to being torn down and transported to a gallery space, the panels and their pinpoints have only lived in one room and been punctured by a handful of studio occupants. Lombardi’s source material spans a much wider net and explores relationships between groups separated by physical distance. In this way, I have a different, more physical relationship to my source material than does Lombardi. I pierce 4 through studio panels with a bookmaking awl, leaving a permanent pin prick remnant, while Lombardi traces graphite diagrams that lighten over time. My marks are the product of physical and visceral exertion while Lombardi’s works are carefully drawn on notebook paper. In this way, we differ in aspects of physicality and closeness to source material. 5 Figure 2. Piercing pin pricks through mylar stencil with bookmaking awl Figure 3. Pierced mylar stencils taped across pinboard panels 6 II. Sophie Calle – Reimagined Connections Sophie Calle, a French photographer and maker, researched the relationships formed between hotel guests and personal belongings. Hired as a housekeeper in a Venetian hotel in 1981, Calle produced a series of photographs, The Hotel. In this collection of photographs and original text, she catalogues objects left in twelve hotel rooms and pens imagined connections between belongings and individuals. Specifically, The Hotel, Room 47 explores the relationship between objects and guests through four pairs of slippers, the contents of a suitcase and torn photographs, among other personal effects. By inspecting the contents of a hotel room, Calle maps and envisions links between people and objects. Figure 4. Sophie Calle, The Hotel, Room 47, 1981, Photographs and ink, 2140 x 1420 mm 7 Like Calle’s The Hotel series, my thesis collection of panels, stencils and prints map relationships between individuals and objects. Marks left behind on studio pinboards showcase interactions between studio occupants and a surface. My prints represent maps that depict relationships between a maker’s interaction with studio panels and pinpoint remnants. While the toner printed maps parallel Calle’s investigation of relationships, my visual works are not accompanied by original text. Unlike Calle, I do not provide viewers with potential readings of a space nor do I offer my understanding of relationships between individuals and objects. Rather, I use stencils to print sets of information. I record