Escher & Hundertwasser Prints

I've drifted back over to Seattle's superb Davidson Galleries and continued collecting images (at least virtually).  Escher caught my eye on the main page--iconic, legendary--but so too did Hundertwasser for his richly colored and textured works--and what a name!

ESCHER
We always gravitate towards M.C. Escher's masterworks of perspective, the tessellations, intricate patterning and bold graphics.  Along with the trademark images, this time a few lesser known pieces stood out (buy them here); the first helps to see into his process, the precision and density of his line work.  The second is a classic Eastern natural scene, a catfish (or koi) submerged in monochromatic autumn.  The last two are more commercial work, doubtless Escher's bread & butter in his early career before reaching mythical status.  His command of the medium is still unmatched and as striking as ever.

Regular Division of the Plane I, 1957

Woodcut in red on wove paper.

9-1/2 x 7-1/8 inches.

Three Worlds,   1955

Lithograph

14-1/4 x 9-3/4 inches

Lute (III),  1931

From XXIV EMBLEMATA. Woodcut on buff wove paper

7-1/8 x 5-1/2 inches

Peacock (Second Titled Page),   1931

From XXIV EMBLEMATA. Woodcut on buff wove paper

7 x 5-3/8 inches

HUNDERTWASSER:

The following is from Davidson's literature on Freidensreich Hundertwasser (prints here):

[Hundertwasser] was largely self-taught apart from a few months at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. While he admired members of Die Wiener Schule des Phantastischen Realismus (Viennese Fantastic Realists), it was with the richly colored and patterned surfaces of work by Gustav Klimt, Walter Kampmann and Egon Schiele that he found greatest resonance.

Hundertwasser's extensive graphic output began in 1967 and was characterized by hybrid forms that enmesh human and natural elements while using highly saturated colors, metallic imprints and carefully  ,calculated color variations within the printing of an edition.

The parallels to Klimt are evident, especially his framed, "cubbyhole" surfaces and use of metallic pigments.  The fact that he was self-taught brought to mind Earl Cunningham and maritime paintings I'd seen once in Orlando's Menello Museum of American Art; Cunningham's buildings in particular have that same tweaky, rickety feel with distorted perspective, the kind Escher would have scoffed off the paper.

These two below were made for the 1972 Munich Olympics, not necessarily remembered for sporting achievements but instead for an infamous terrorist act.  Beautiful colors printed ahead of dark days.

Olympische Speile München, 1972 (2 variations shown)

Silk screen in 21 colors with metal imprints in 5 colors 

and an electrostatic application of felt fibrils. 

40-1/2 x 25 inches.

One of Five Seaman, 1975

Silk screen in 18 colors with metal imprints in 2 colors   

33-5/8 x 22-7/8 inches.

Maybe it's the mustard color or the head shape in this last one, but I think of Os Gemeos, the twin Brazilian street artists who've been befriended by graffiti darling Banksy and lauded by international art critics.  Here's a write-up of their 2013 "Anglo-Paulista" collaboration for Banksy's residency in NYC.

Chrome Narcissism

I did it once and I've done it again! It seems like I'm always seeing myself in these classic beauties.  Maybe it was the charm and the shine of my dad's Model A Ford -- the one he built piece-by-piece after countless swapmeets and nights in the dimly-lit, dilapidated garage, and before eBay, finding those original parts took some real legwork.  I snapped these low-res shots at an Athens, GA car/art/fashion show called "The Mystique of the Automobile".

Emily Pilloton: On a Brand New (Design) Tack

It's exhilarating to discover someone whose work is making a real difference. This could be a giant like Muhammad Yunus, your fourth grade teacher, or someone like Emily Pilloton. Her work with Project H Design, the charitable organization she founded, "supports, inspires, and delivers product design initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health, and Happiness."

The initiatives and the sustainable ideals behind all aspects of this grassroots work are so admirable and will undoubtedly become a precedent for educational design -- fingers crossed that someone is watching and paying attention.

As the project gains steam, Pilloton and cohorts reap the rewards of higher-exposure which amplifies the project's core tenets:

1) There is no design without (critical) action.We are not a social club, nor do we host green drinks events. We do projects that exist in the real world, that have partners, impact, and results. We work as a team, rather than for individual glory.

2) We design WITH, not FOR.We work with partners, not for clients. We bring end users to the table from day one, making them fellow designers. We co-create with unexpected partners, and listen/learn first about social issues we may not fully understand.

3) We document, share, and measure.We record all work as a means to measure qualitatively and quantitatively, and ask for feedback as a means to constantly improve. Our designs are never "done." We share practices between project teams so that we never have to start from zero.

4) We start locally, and scale globally.Our projects are local responses to global problems, and are designed to serve as models for broader application. We look first to our own back yards, with the ultimate goal of scaling and improving products as systems that can work anywhere.

5) We design systems, not stuff.We create solutions and systems that are not driven by material or consumption. We "take the product out of product design" to question the traditional models, and design solutions that enable something greater than the object itself: enterprises, impact, etc.

6) We build.We get dirty. We tweak and prototype and test and bend. We know how to work in a woodshop, and how to weld, mill, and machine. We believe that knowing how things are built makes you a better designer, and that understanding the design process makes you a better builder. We make sure our ideas come to life.

This approach shouldn't be limited to design. Sensitivity to place and culture is something that's conspicuously lacking throughout our society, from the strip mall sprawl beyond the Beltway to the one-size-fits-all standardized tests we force upon anyone and everyone. Change is incremental, and Pilloton, with her team of innovators, is assuredly a leader to watch--and hopefully emulate--in the future.

Project H Design - the main thing on her plate
Inhabitat - a vast design site / Pilloton is managing editor
Dwell - an insightful interview by Alissa Walker
TED - read her profile / find other inspiring talks!