Untitled
These six untitled prints were inspired by "merchant posters"—brightly colored local advertisements for such things as divorces, cars, child care, and etc. that had been wheat pasted on walls or tacked to telephone poles—found in a low income neighborhood in Los Angeles. To achieve an aesthetic that evokes both the collage process for which he is known, and the streets where the posters would be placed, Bradford used two different printing plates for each print. The background, with its scratches, scruffs, and marks, was printed on the verso of used etching plates from the Lower East Side Printshop. The central or "poster" image was then printed onto these marked sheets; Bradford traced over particular words and phrases to create emphasis and perhaps evoke graffiti, or illegal writing and marks found on such posters. He also added scratches and marks to the background area to create the gritty aesthetic he desired. The prints, which are to be shown as a group, contain text in both English and Spanish, making reference to the changing demographics of the neighborhood.
Artwork Details
- Title: Untitled
- Artist: Mark Bradford (American, born Los Angeles, California, 1961)
- Printer: Erik Hougen
- Printer: Lower East Side Printshop, Inc.
- Printer: Lothar Osterburg (German, born 1961)
- Publisher: Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
- Date: 2012
- Medium: Etching, photogravure, and chine collé
- Dimensions: Each: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Janice Carlson Oresman Gift, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.517.1–.6
- Rights and Reproduction: © Mark Bradford
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth - Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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