|
Texas Grassroots: Botanical Prints by David J. Webb
June 12, 2008 - September 6, 2008
The Museum of Printing History
1324 West Clay Street, Houston, TX 77019 Tel: (713) 522-4652
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm
Admission: Free
Texas Grassroots Opening Reception, Thursday, June 12, 2008 from
6-8pm
The Museum of Printing History is pleased to present Texas Grassroots:
Botanical Prints by David J. Webb. These large scale monoprints, printed
directly from the plant specimen, represent the nexus of art and
science. Up to 44" in length, these prints are evocative of Asian
brush painting in their simple strokes and elegant forms. These grass
prints, titled by the grass genus and species names, represent a
scientifically precise visual record of botanical specimens.
Artists and scientist alike are keen observers of the natural world,
with different approaches to their observations and distinct purposes
for their endeavors. Since the time of Carl Linneaus in the eighteenth
century, scientists wanted to publish works for a wider public than
those who could study actual herbarium specimens. In the 1840's Anna
Atkins (1799-1871) solved the difficulties of making accurate drawings
of scientific specimens when she published British Algae: Cyanotype
Impressions. These direct prints of plant material were inarguably
accurate and yet artistically beautiful. Texas Grassroots: Botanical
Prints by David J. Webb continues this tradition of artistic expression
and scientific inquiry.
The specimens were collected in the urban centers of Houston, and
pressed in the artist's studio in a large herbarium press, before being
inked and run through a standard 30" x 48" etching press.
Grasses with their parallel veins possess great internal strength and
are ideal for printing. Using the monoprint technique the artist may
achieve far greater detail than other printing techniques.
David J. Webb is an artist working principally at Glassell School,
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. His various works on paper have been
seen in Glassell exhibitions. He has numerous block prints, etchings,
lithographs, and photographs in private collections from Houston to
Tokyo, Zürich, and Poltava, Ukraine. Strongly informed by a background
in genetics and evolutionary biology, his work functions on the cusp
between art and science.
The Museum of Printing History is funded in part by grants from the
City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.
|
|
