ART 363-Printmaking II
Project 1: Advanced Intaglio – Solar Plate Printing and the laser cutter
Tangible and Intangible forms of Adornment as Expressions of Emirati Identity
An Adornment is generally an accessory or ornament worn to enhance beauty or status of the wearer. They are often worn to embellish, enhance, or distinguish the wearer, and to define cultural, social, or religious status within a specific community or group.
Adornments can extend beyond accessories that embellish the human. They can also be accessories that adorn one’s pets, livestock, the dinner table, or elements of one’s home. Adornments can be tangible (perceptible by touch and sight for example with such items as family heirlooms; henna; clothing; costumes; jewellery and accessories; badges; uniforms; headdress; etc.) or intangible (incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch, but through other senses such as smell with items such as perfume or oils).
In this project students are to explore their personal histories through tangible and intangible forms of adornment as expressions of Emirati identity. They are to explore their own personal history through objects in their family’s homes, archives, photographs, letters, artefacts, stories and memories that relate to the topic of Adornment.
Students are to collect visuals for the work and are to assemble them into a compelling layered composition telling their story. Images should be high resolution, and collected through primary sources (scanning/ photography). Students should integrate text with the visuals to provide more information to the viewer. The imagery should be collaged in layers keeping in mind the creation of these works will unfold in a two-step process. Your primary imagery will be transferred to a solar etching plate and printed on fine art paper. The print will then have a secondary layer (which could be the text, patterns or another visual element), which will be laser cut from the image creating a negative or laser engraved removing previous elements.
