Make Stains, 'Polyrhythmic' Calligraphy by Denis Brown, 2008
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Gouache on translucent polyester film laid over and stitched to a background sheet of dark blue paper with calligraphy that shows through the translucent film. 45 x 94cm 17.5" x 37". One of a small series of variations on this theme.
Text: 'We are ink & blood & all things that make stains'
from the poem, 'We Learned' by Erica Jong.
Expressionist layered writing with an automatic pen. 2 layers of 'polyrhythmic'* calligraphy on front and back of translucent film, and with two more layers written on a background sheet of dark blue Canson paper. The full extract above is incorporated, though the words are disguised by the layering and non-traditional polyrhythmic forms and spacing.
*'Polyrhythmic' is a term I borrow from music and apply to calligraphic rhythms that transcend even spaced, fixed width norms of traditional western calligraphy; and aspire to something much more musical. Several contrasting rhythmic elements are combined in an improvised manner: compressed against wide, pointed against curved, thick downstroke against thin downstroke, etc.
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