Monotypes Meditations on the Square

These monotypes were inspired by sources as varied as traditional quilts, Islamic tile patterns, and the music of Phillip Glass’. I heard for the first time last year a piece Glass wrote titled “Music in the Shape of a Square” Its seeming simplicity belied an underlying complexity that derived from subtle variations in tone and key. Bach was the master at this of course and I often play the Goldberg Variations on repeat for hours, but Glass’ piece seemd so intensely modern and it moved me deeply.

They also continue my obsession with the square as compositional structure, which I used extensively in the watercolor series Rituals and Meditations. This tied in with images of Amish and other style quilts I had seen over the years and also my lifelong fascination with Islamic tile patterns which I first encountered in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, I was moved by the ability of these decorative techniques to invoke the divine, to reflect unseen harmonies and to speak of joy in a way that was simple and abstract.

All of these strand came together in this new body of work. The composition I created consisted of two sets of patterns. The first was a series of three nesting squares, each to be printed in different colors. For the other I divided the plate into 9 equal width stripes, in two directions so their intersections created squares at both the center and corners They were to be printed in three colors with two of them repeating. The six plates were printed one after the other on the same print creating a complex image of overlapping color The plates had to be printed one after the other with the wet paper on the press so that the colors registered precisely. Registering the print correctly to add colors at a later time was exceedingly hard as the paper expands and contracts depending on the soaking time.

I began the series with some simple choices of primary and secondary colors, but soon found that the variations I was achieving allowed me to me to improvise more and more and the choices of colors varied far and wide across the palate. Many prints were returned to the press for more impressions, some having over 12 colors on them. This created colors with wonderful subtleties, intense depths and striking dissonances not possible with painting, and is one of the joys of the monotype process. But more than that, this seemingly simple and restricting process allowed me to create.

The geometric composition provides a structure, like a sonnet, that allows for infinite variations. The results have an inner radiance and joyful intensity.