Summer 2007 , Volume 13, No. 3

 

PATHS AND EDGES
by Xavier Fumat

My name is Xavier Fumat and I am a printer at Gemini GEL. I have been at Gemini since 1998 where I have worked with many artists but the one artist I do most of my collaborations with is Richard Serra. As a collaborator I assist the artist with technical advice to help them create the work they envision. At times it can be a daunting task. Serra's works on paper are about texture as well as the image. It is up to me to make it come together but of course I also rely on other printers at Gemini to help as well.

On this last Serra project Paths and Edges, we encounted a new and unique problem. Richard's images had a very distinctive texture. He wanted to replicate the texture as close as possible. After a week long proofing session of trial and error we figured out the process required to produce the texture. We ended p making about fifty etching plates to end up with only thirteen images. As the proofing session continued it became appararent to us we were going to need a paper that would be able to conform to the extreme texture we had etched onto the plate. We tried our usual papers with limited results. Gemini curator Scott Bisacchi suggested we take a look at some Japanese papers carried by Hiromi. We had a discussion with Hiromi and she was able to get us some samples to try.
The paper we chose is Mohachi Paper and it was colored to match what the artist was looking for. This paper worked extremely well. It was able to withstand the extreme pressure needed to push it into the texture and was able to hold the texture as well as the paper dried, but what liked even more was the way the image "popped" when printed on Mohachi Paper! I would describe the process more like embossing paper than printing an etching even though the process is intaglio by definition.

We have been trying to use Japanese papers on other Serra projects but we were not able to make it happen. The Mohachi paper was the right choice for this particular project and I look forward to trying other papers like it for future projects. I am also looking forwaed to using some of the remnants for my personal work. I know Richard Serra was extremely satisfied with it and with another order he placed for his own works on papers!

Thanks you Hiromi and Felicia for your help and advice! Mohachi paper was the final touch needed to pull the project together.

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