A Play on Paper

Exhibition Review
A Play on Paper
By Rory Laven

            The exhibit A Play on Paper, which was featured in the McNamara Gallery, showcases digital works displayed on handmade recycled paper. The paper used is from a variety of recycling sites and then combined to create different textures and colors of paper. Once the paper was formed, the images were screen printed (serigraphs) to create the final product. The paper used to print the serigraphs worked in conjunction with the digital design. This is because the recycled paper was made up of different textures and colors. Most print art is done on standard white paper.  The paper used in this display was thicker than standard office or photo paper. The color was not a pristine white, but a gray tone. When looking closely at the paper, you can see cracks and other rough surfaces that show how the paper was formed.

            Many people have said that technology would play a part in the destruction of the world. The waste and power consumption of some technologies has made us rethink how important some things are. Paper is wastefully used by the box-load in some offices daily. I myself am an avid recycler, and enjoyed how someone could take something once discarded and reuse it to create a work of art. I hope that works like the ones showcased make others think of how they can reuse items from our daily lives.

            The piece Stop Glaring Technology No. 1, uses the drafting program, AutoCAD to create the outline of a face with glaring eyes. The piece from a distance looks like most building blueprints, with lines going everywhere. The only color featured in the piece is various shades of blue. This is the same color used to print blueprints, and was the color display in the first computer monitors. The eyes in the center give the piece its title. The eyes are glaring. This could be caused by a number of reasons. Some people hate using technology. They are unwilling to learn how to operate it, or feel that only problems can come from it. The eyes could also resemble a person that has been looking at a display for too long a period of time. When the paper is closely examined, you can see hole punch sized circles in the different layers of paper. This shows that all forms of paper can be reused. 

            The piece Friendly Fire Breath depicts a person’s face breathing fire. A person can expel fire in a number of ways. This could be our words to one another, our actions, or our wasting of goods. As we grow in our lives, we learn how to breathe less fire. Instead of fire, a person will learn how to breathe water to help put out problems, both their own and those of others. With having this piece printed on recycled paper, some of the fires of waste have been extinguished.

            This exhibit gives a great idea on how printed art can be combined with renewable resources. Recycled paper is just one of the many materials that can be used to create a work of art. The pieces is this exhibit used what some would call imperfections in the recycled paper to its advantage. The rough textures added depth to the print media. I would be curious to see the print images on standard white paper. Would they have as much sophistication?
Just because it was discarded by someone does not mean that it can’t be used by you.