The New Graphic

Jessica Eaton is a photographer based out of Montreal whose recent work has explored minimalist form and the interplay of space and time in the making of photographs. Satisfying in their display of intellectual curiosity and technical mastery, Eaton’s “Cubes for Albers and Lewitt” are equally enjoyed as purely visual inventions, playful in their display of color and form.

Eaton explains her process in the introduction to the series: “The images are constructed on sheets of 4 x 5 film. The subject is in reality monochromatic. The photographs use a set of cubes and ground options painted white, two tones of grey, and black. Through multiple exposures, the color hues in each image have been made by exposing the film to additive primaries of red, green and blue. The reflective value of the cubes controls the value of lightness of that hue, and the black is utilized as a type of reflective mask, keeping potential on the film for other exposures. The images are completely photographic yet not visible to the naked eye.”

“When Rembrandt was asked how to paint, he is said to have answered, “One must take a brush and begin.” This is the answer of genius which grows without school and even in spite of schooling. At the same time we know that he had a teacher and became a teacher.”

“From his own experiences the student should first become aware of form problems in general, and thereby become clear as to his own real inclinations and abilities. In short, our art instruction attempts first to teach the student to see in the widest sense: to open his eyes to the phenomena about him and, most important of all, to open to his own living, being, and doing. In this connection we consider class work in art studies necessary because of the common tasks and mutual criticism.”

“Life is more important than school, the student and the learning more important than the teacher and the teaching. More lasting than having heard and read is to have seen and experienced. The result of the work of a school is difficult to determine while the pupil is in school. The proofs are the results in later life…”

Josef Albers from Concerning Art Instruction, June 1934

Contemporary Persian graphic and typographic voices have many names, Raad, Changlavaee, Kasaei, Fozouni, to name but a few, and it’s impossible to isolate one as somehow emblematic of what Reza Abedini has called the ‘Fifth Generation’ of Iranian graphic designers. If one has to start somewhere in this compelling corner of contemporary global practice, let it be with Homa Delvaray, whose work is characterized by infinite care, fascination, and wonder.

Internationally recognized for her remarkable poster designs, Delvaray’s unique and exquisite typographic vision is equally represented in her lesser known book cover designs, several of which are featured below.

A member of the vibrant Dabireh Collective, Delvaray’s work is best appreciated via her own gloriously self-replicating portfolio site (see screenshot below), but also on VitrinRooz, where she is currently ranked third in visits to that inspiring online gallery. For more, I highly recommend Roshanak Keyghobadi’s recent writing for key insights into Delvaray’s work and that of her contemporaries.

Born Myrrha Dagmar Dub in 1919, in Switzerland, Mira Schendel studied art and philosophy in Italy during the 1930′s and moved to Brazil in 1949 where she made the majority of her life’s work—painting, drawing, graphic design and sculpture. During the height of her artistic powers, her work often focused on the visual component of language—using letters and words and phonetic combinations to highlight the gestural and “sudden semantic value” of the written word.

To put simply. This is possibly the best, most beautiful photographic series I have ever seen. With time, I realize that nothing is face value. When viewing, we bring our history with us and the artist brings theirs. The true art is what happens when those worlds collide in the space between you and the work.

“These are photographic collaborations with my autistic friend, Will Johns. He selects the subject matter and operates the light meter. His autism informs his methods, which then affects my methods. His idiosyncratic choices force me to photograph subject matter I wouldn’t be drawn to and compose in a new way, where I must consider Will as author, subject and subject matter. In these images Will stands with the light meter, his posture, gaze and facial expressions explicitly make reference to our relationship and reveal the complexity in separating subject matter from subject and the difficulties artists face with issues of exploitation and authorship.”

More of Botkin’s work here.