Glass Art by Denis Brown

Body of Text
Layered glass art by Denis Brown 2007
Frame size: 29.5" x 22" x 2.5"; main image size inside frame: 13" x 19"

Please click images for an enlargement which will better show fine detail.

Description
6 sheets of 2mm glass, each spaced 5mm apart in a box-frame. Each sheet is diamond engraved on both sides, as well as etched with an acidic paste. Mounted over a background with sumi ink painting on polyester film. A sheet of paper bearing the words 'Body of Text' and some calligraphic flourishes, lies behind the translucent polyester film and shows through. Fragments of oriental sumi ink sticks and ink spatters have been attached to the glass layers and appear to float in space. Some of the fragments of the stick inks bear oriental characters in gold. Small black type can be read on close inspection rising through the spatial layers amongst the ink sticks. Three phrases are presented:

Blood of Ink
Skeleton Letters
Relic of writing

The 'Body of Text' alluded to in the title spans the lower half of the image. It is a 3-D mass of engraved writing in semi-formal italic capitals which decline to pure scribbles towards either side.

Enlarged detail of layered flourishes

Calligraphic flourishes bearing animal heads, grass like stems and Celtic triskeles appear in the top right corner. There are two layers, one is ink on acetate and is attached behind an acid-etched portion of glass. A second set of flourishes was engraved directly onto the glass one layer above. This layer may only appear in certain light. The fast speed of the flourished strokes is illustrated by the fact that the engraved line breaks down to a dotted line on fastest parts of each line. The dynamic of acceleration in the strokes is illustrated by the changes in spacing of the dots and becomes a calligraphic expressionism at a very subtle level. This dynamic is also apparent in the signature at bottom left.

Drops of clear epoxy resin have been attached to layers of glass and to parts of the Plexiglas frame.

Frame:
Box frame construction, 2.5" deep with gilt aluminum finish and a 3/8th" clear plexiglas surround which has been engraved with semi-abstract text on both sides. This calligraphy will show clearly if hung against a dark wall; or will cast shadows on a white wall- a surreal effect can occur in spotlit conditions where shadows appear clearly but the engraved lines casting them practically disappear. Frame size: 29.5" x 22" x 2.5" Image size inside frame: 13" x 19"

Detail of engraved writing in two layers on each side of the 10mm Plexiglas frame

Concepts:
'Body of Text' is a work full of ironic juxtapositions. Conventionally, writing depends on ink, but this writing is inkless... hundreds of words have been scratched into both sides of six sheets glass without any ink at all. They float away from & above an ink-splashed background sheet. But it is this dark background (painted in sumi inks onto polyester film) which makes the engraved writing visible. Visible, yes; but not legible- this text obliterates itself by many overlapping repetitions. Only the writing engraved on the top layer of glass may be deciphered by careful inspection:
"Writing that is inkless, but dependent on ink stains behind just to be visible. Illegible text- obliterated by its own presence. Poetry of the image."

This 'relic of writing' refers to the marginalization of handwriting in digital lifestyles. But make no mistake, I hold no nostalgic sentiments about it. Indeed calligraphy has been maginalized since the advent of printing, and many more times since then. Traditionalists speak of 'functional calligraphy', but let's face it, the term is an oxymoron. However calligraphy is liberated from function by all the better means of modern text communication- so it may now more easily become art in the full sense that word may imply- aesthetic, expressive, conceptual, and reflexive of it's past whilst looking to the future.

This work is available for sale- please contact me for information.
For more works by Denis Brown themed on ink click here