Inkfall, Artist's Edition print by Denis Brown 2008, 33x48cm, 13"x19"  
80 original prints only, each signed and numbered.
Photograph of ink falling through water
archivally printed onto Bockingford watercolor paper.
Click Here for purchase details.

Ink was dropped into a clear tank of water and allowed to move of its own accord. Natural, beautiful, and requiring no effort. This is an example of what I have called Reductionist Calligraphy, i.e., calligraphy reduced to the essential.

In ancient time, transcription was an essential part of calligraphy, but now we have many more functional means to transcribe text... so I let the words go. Let's see if calligraphy can do without.

Sometimes I've suggested that rhythmic gestures are the essence of modern calligraphy, but here I managed fine without them.

Maybe communication is an essential to all calligraphy? There may still be communication here on various levels; despite no words, no writing, and no expressive gestures of the hand/arm/body. Calligraphy is here reduced to ink alone, flowing beautifully, by itself.

Predictably, some will say that this is not calligraphy- the word derives from Greek kalli+graphos, meaning beautiful writing. Poets uses nouns as metaphors. My image was not written by hand at but by nature. Meanings of words deviate from etymological origins over time and shifts in usage. The term calligraphy may have emerged from beautifully written words, but the practice has evolved to incorporate abstraction from the word, as well as interrogation of what defines 'beautiful' and whether this is always desirable. (I must also say that this series of Reductionism will not stop me from writing beautiful letters whenever that seems appropriate).

See it in motion: Click Here to watch a movie.

In my work, I have slowly come to accept that, in our time, calligraphy can no longer be seen as a broadly functional pursuit. We have so many more efficient means to communicate text. This leaves me with a sense of sadness, as well as a great artistic freedom. I try to communicate the essence of this dualism in this unwritten calligraphy. The falling ink forms a calligraphy that appears to mourn its loss of function, yet simultaneously celebrates its freedom.

I can see this work as traditional calligraphy, despite it's unwritten nature. Many people think tradition means following a style, but I believe that practitioners of any tradition need to carry that practice into their own time, and ensure that it remains relevant to the spirit of the age. In this sense good traditional work is always contemporary, to the age it was made. The Book of Kells is a masterpiece of its time, but even if a perfect copy of that style could be made now, it would be pointless. Traditional and contemporary are not opposites. I see this Reductionist Calligraphy as traditional in that all the references and underlying concepts are directly related to calligraphy and its history. But it carries these in an age when handwriting itself is becoming all but obsolete, and the term 'functional calligraphy' is almost an oxymoron.

I have a commitment to find deep meaning in my work despite typical marginalization of the field to nostalgic, decorative and sentimental solutions.

Denis Brown, Dublin, 2008

PRODUCTION NOTES
Photographed digitally at 10 megapixel resolution, then up-sampled using GF Print Pro to 100 megapixels, prior to image processing and optimization. (Up-sampling to this degree means later processing artifacts are negligible). Processing included optimization of levels, deletion of background artifacts, and selective sharpening or blurring of different areas. It did not involve any manipulation of the original composition, nor addition of any computer generated artwork.
Printed from an Epson 3800 using Epson’s 9-color UltraChrome ink system at 1440 dpi on Bockingford watercolor paper*. This combination of archival materials can ensure very long lasting quality, provided prints are not exposed to direct sunlight. Each print is signed and numbered and features an oriental chop, with characters that translate 'with fresh feeling'.

*NOTE. Images here do not convey the paper texture. The prints are on 90lb Bockingford watercolor paper, which is just off-white and with a cold-pressed surface (alternatively called NOT pressed), leaving a subtle texture that is very aesthetic.

Price: US$ 95.00
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©2011 Denis Brown  |  www.quillskill.com