A Quest for the Golden Fleece
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A Quest for the Golden Fleece Donald Farnsworth A Quest for the Golden Fleece Rarely have I encountered an entangled mat of cellulose fibers I didn’t appreciate in one way or another. Whether textured or smooth, pre- cious or disposable, these hardy amalgams of hydrogen-bonded fibers have changed the world many times over. For centuries, human history has been both literally written on the surface of paper and embedded deep within its structure. In folded and bound form, mats of cellulose fibers ushered in the Enlightenment; by enabling multiple iterations and revisions of an idea to span generations, they have facilitated the design of airships and skyscrapers, or the blueprints and calculations that made possible the first human footsteps on the moon. Generally speaking, we continue to recognize paper by a few basic characteristics: it is most often thin, portable, flexible, and readily ac- cepting of ink or inscription. There is, however, a particular sheet that is superlatively impressive, exhibiting an unintentional and unpreten- tious type of beauty. At first glance and in direct light, it may trick you into thinking it is merely ordinary paper; when backlit, the care- ful viewer may detect subtle hints of its historical pedigree via telltale watermarks or chain and laid lines. Only when viewed under a raking light does its extraordinary surface emerge with clarity, containing endlessly variegated impressions of the fibrous felts between which it was made: a galaxy of fibers, ready and waiting for a collaboration with an opportune stroke of chalk or splash of paint. What follows is the story of a quest to make this specific incarnation of paper: a sheet Albrecht Durer - Construction of a Spiral Line, 1525 Copyright © 2017 Donald Farnsworth, all rights reserved. Any person is hereby authorized to view, copy, print and distribute this document for informational and non-commercial purposes only. Any copy of this document or portion thereof must include this copyright notice. Note that any product or technology described in the document may be the subject of other intellectual property rights reserved by Don- ald Farnsworth and Magnolia Editions or other entities. 2 3 chosen specifically by artists for its friction points -– literally its highs vert and change our course, even as it helps us find the way. Might it and lows -– comprising an unmistakable, fibrous topography that col- still be possible, in our changed world, to make Italian Renaissance 1. Wayne used this aphorism to put the audience at ease while asking for laborated with and influenced the chalk drawings and ink washes of paper? As I once heard artist Wayne Thiebaud explain: “There is no questions after a slide presentation 1 at CCAC. Interestingly, none of the the Old Masters. I refer here, my friend, to the textured papers of the such thing as a bad question -– only bad answers.” slides depicted his own painting; Italian Renaissance. instead, he presented slides of other artists’ work and explained how I first encountered the possibility of recreating age-old papers at each had influenced him. I remem- ber Wayne was asked:“Was it you What, you may ask, is so special about a fibrous texture in paper? Af- Berkeley’s Daedalus Paper Conservation Laboratory, my day job or Mel Ramos who first started ter all, fibers are the substance that defines paper. True, all paper is while studying printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute.2 By painting bright edges around painted elements?” His answer: “I believe it made of fibers; upon seeing an entangled surface texture in any pa- teaching me how to conserve paper from centuries-old antique doc- was Vincent van Gogh.” per, we might assume that it was directly generated by the fibers which uments, Daedalus founders Robert Clifford and Stephen Shapiro set make up the sheet. In the case of Japanese papers made from gently me afloat on a voyage of discovery that continues to this day. I recall cooked kozo, we would be correct: the beautiful swirl of streamers in in particular my excitement at working with Bob Clifford on a two- the surface texture is indeed the kozo bark. But in the textured linen hundred-year-old piece of paper upon which George Washington 2. The conservators at Daedalus per- and hemp sheets created in Italy between the 14th and 17th century, had penned a letter to his stepson. We scraped fiber off a rag paper suaded me to supplement my art school the paper’s fibers -– integral as they are to the sheet -– have conformed of similar character; stirred the fibers into a beaker with methyl cel- curriculum with chemistry classes. Though I had loathed chemistry in not only to themselves, but to the larger matrix of the wool fleece lulose (a type of paste); formed micro-sheets; and carefully, deftly high school, my desire to catch up to 3 the conservators made me a surpris- against which they were pressed. The next time you find yourself in infilled the irregularly-shaped holes in the document. Washington’s ingly enthusiastic student the second front of a 16th-century drawing, admiring the play of chalk strokes letter looked almost as good as new. Admiring the successful infill, I time around. I highly recommend the study of chemistry to any serious upon its fibrous surface, look very closely: as you behold the distin- marveled aloud: We made paper! “So what?” replied Bob. True, we artist or student of art; it will change your life. guishing marks, you will witness a texture imparted under the force had made less than a square inch of paper; nevertheless, my interest of a mechanical screw press, as woolen felt was pressed some five hun- was piqued. “Could we make handmade paper,” I wondered, “at a dred years ago against a wet mat of cellulose fibers. much bigger scale?” “Whatever for?” asked Bob, nonplussed. I had no answer to his question, but my journey had begun. The recreation of such papers in the present day is a slippery slope. 3. In a forward-thinking move for the early 1970s, we placed silicon The influence of our own time taints our intentions, creeping in and Just as Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of a mythical gold- release paper on both sides of the docu- asserting itself like a secret mutiny. Our modern technological age en fleece only to encounter adventures unknown, so I began to seek ment to keep the infill from sticking to anything but the paper. Better living through chemistry with its “better living through chemistry” will almost certainly sub- my own elusive treasure without yet fully realizing all of the obsta- 4 5 4. The many distractions from cles and variables related to the successful production of large for- particular became an invaluable mentor, whose uncanny sixth sense in 7. Cheating the impending disasters my paper passion stem in no small that always lay in wait when print- part from the work we produce at mat, Renaissance-style paper. Like Jason, my quest would take me the studio left a lasting impression. To this day, I strive to emulate ing from a stone, Lloyd would, with- Magnolia Editions, an art projects across oceans, bringing me into contact with larger-than-life figures his seemingly supernatural ability to understand how materials would out warning, call for a “wet-wash,” studio. Alongside papermaking, we a “sponge gum,” a “tight gum,” or a have facilities for intaglio, woodcut, from antiquity and the 21st century; I, too, would be subject to the behave and to ascertain the precise moment when each step of a given blotting and “snap roll” followed by UV-cured acrylic printing, sewing, 4 all of the above. These common stone- and ceramics; other tools include an perpetual distraction of adventures tangential to the quest. What’s process had reached its apex. Lloyd seemed able to peer into the future litho terms are processes designed to automated laser cutter, 3-D printer, more, though unknown to me at the outset, my success also depended in order to evaluate the potential outcome of a given set of criteria; keep the hydrophilic non-image area and an automated pigment grinder. and oloephilic image area in the ideal 7 In this ever-distracting environment upon the acquisition of rare fleece -– literally: the pelts of 500-year- e.g., staving off a “fill-in,” “floaters,” or “dry-roll” in litho printing. state of equilibrium. we produce editioned and public art, such as a pair of ceramic tile murals by old breeds of sheep ultimately proved crucial to recreating the elusive Chuck Close which just opened to the surface texture of 16th-century Italian paper. As I worked my way up to printing at Editions Press, I established public in the 2nd Ave. Subway line in New York. Other fun distractions Farnsworth & Company Papermakers, where I had the good fortune to 8. Kathan Brown of Crown Point include mixed-media and inta- Press brought Claes Oldenburg to my glio prints with Enrique Chagoya, By a stroke of luck, I met Editions Press master printer Lloyd Baggs make paper for various titans of the contemporary art world including first paper mill in an old West Oakland Guy Diehl, and Mildred Howard; in the early 1970s while attending one of his stone lithography demon- Claes Oldenburg, John Cage, and Chris Burden.8 I acquired moulds, warehouse. Karel Appel and Sam woodcuts with Mel Ramos and Don Gilliam came by to make pulp-on-pulp 5 9 Ed Hardy; and UV-cured printing/ strations. My companion and fellow SFAI student Marcy Klepp, a including two lovely antique laid paper moulds used by the Hayle Mill, paintings, squeezing wet paper pulp painting hybrids with Deborah Oro- through ketchup bottles onto freshly pallo.