s3e52 mezzotint history and technique with artist Carol Wax (part one)

Platemark: prints and the printmaking ecosystem

In s3e52 of Platemark, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig talk with Carol Wax, artist and author of The Mezzotint: History and Technique. Carol recently published the second edition of The Mezzotint, expanding greatly in every area from the 1990 first edition. As she tells us, there is a better break down of rocking the copper plates, and of inking and printing them, plus there are new chapters about printing papers and the history of the medium and how it fits in the greater history of prints.

They talk about the early history of mezzotint, whether one can over rock a plate, what happens when you do, and about Carol’s dislike of perspectival composition, all the machines and their personalities, and her dogs Cecil, the Weimaraner, and Delia, the new dog in her life. The conversation ran long, so the episode is split into two parts.

[Top] Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Eleven Shells, 1982. Mezzotint. 2 ¾ x 5 inches. Courtesy of the artist. First mezzotint I felt comfortable signing and which shows the influence of Hamaguchi.

{Bottom] Yozo Hamaguchi (Japanese, 1909–2000). Shells. Mezzotint.

John Raphael Smith (British, 1751–1812), after Henry Fuseli (Swiss, 1741–1825). The Weird Sisters (Shakespeare, MacBeth, Act 1, Scene 3), 1785. Mezzotint. Sheet: 18 1/16 x 21 7/8 in. (45.8 x 55.5 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

[Left] John Raphael Smith (British, 1751–1812), after Sir Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723–1792). The Infant Jupiter, 1775. Mezzotint. Plate: 20 x 14 in. New York Public Library, New York.

[Right] Valentine Green (British, 1739–1813), after Sir Anthony Van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641). The Earl of Danby, 1775. Mezzotint. Sheet: 20 7/8 x 13 7/8 in. Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Carol Wax. The Mezzotint: History and Technique (2nd Edition). Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2023.

Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617). After Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (Netherlandish, 1562–1638). Icarus, from the series The Four Disgracers, 1588. Engraving. Sheet: 13 7/16 x 13 1/4 in. (34.2 x 33.7 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Ludwig von Siegen (German, 1609–after 1676). Amelia Elizabeth Landgravure of Hesse-Kassel, 1642. Mezzotint. Sheet: 16 7/16 x 11 15/16 in. (41.8 x 30.3 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Prince Rupert (German, 1619–1682). Head of the Executioner, 1662. Mezzotint. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Institution, New York.

Theodor Caspar von Fürstenburg (German, 1615–1675). Salomé, 1656–75. Mezzotint. 191 x 149 mm. British Museum, London.

David Lucas (British, 1802–1881), after John Constable (British, 1776–1837). The Rainbow, Salisbury Cathedral, 1855. Mezzotint. Sheet: 24 ¼ x 28 ¼ in. (61.5 x 71.7 cm.). Christie’s.

Thomas Frye (British, 1710/11–1762). Head of a Man Wearing a Turban, 1760. Mezzotint. Plate: 19 7/8 × 13 15/16 in. (50.5 × 35.4 cm.); sheet: 23 3/8 × 16 15/16 in. (59.4 × 43 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Valentine Green (British, 1739–1813), after Joseph Wright of Derby (British, 1734–1797). A Philosopher Shewing an Experiment on the Air Pump, 1769. Mezzotint. Plate: 19 × 23 in. (48.3 × 58.4 cm.). Sheet: 19 7/8 × 25 5/8 in. (50.5 × 65.1 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Joseph Pennell (American, 1857–1926). Hail America, 1908. Mezzotint. Plate: 8 7/16 × 14 11/16 in. (21.5 × 37.3 cm.); sheet: 9 7/8 × 15 3/4 in. (25.1 × 40 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Reynold Weidenaar (American, 1915–1985). The Bridge and the Storm, Mackinac Straits, 1957. Mezzotint. Sheet: 19 5/8 x 15 ½ in. Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, Mackinac.

Mario Avati (French, 1921–2009). Le Goût acide du jaune citron, 1982. Mezzotint. 29 x 37.7 cm. Fitch Febvrel Gallery.

Yozo Hamaguchi (Japanese, 1909–2000). The Three Lemons, 1956. Color mezzotint. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland.

Art Werger (American, born 1955). Clarity, 2021. Mezzotint. 24 x 36 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Craig McPherson (American, born 1948). Memento Mori, 2013. Mezzotint. 13 5/8 x 16 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist.

Judith Rothchild (American, born 1950). Le nid, 2005. Mezzotint. 7 13/16 x 11 5/8 in. Annex Galleries, Santa Rosa.

Jacob Crook (American, born 1985). Nightrise II, 2019. Mezzotint. 8 ½ x 11 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Julie Niskanen (American, born 1983). Sanctuary, 2007. Mezzotint. Courtesy of the artist.

Charles Ritchie (American, born 1954). House II, 2012–19. Mezzotint. Plate: 6 x 3 7/8 in.; sheet: 13 ½ x 10 in. Courtesy of the artist.

J.M.W. Turner (British, 1775–1851) and Charles Turner (British, 1774–1857). Norham Castle on the Tweed (Liber Studiorum, part XII, plate 57), 1816. Etching and mezzotint. Plate: 7 x 10 5/16 in. (17.8 x 26.2 cm.); sheet: 8 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (21 x 29.2 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Frank Short (British, 1857–1945), after J.M.W. Turner (British, 1775–1851). Liber Studiorum—Frontispiece, 1885. Etching and mezzotint. Plate: 124 x 185 mm. Tate, London.

EXTRA IMAGES

Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Type Face, 2002. Mezzotint. 9 ¼ x 9 ¼ inches. Courtesy of the artist. An example of (perhaps more than any other) anthropomorphizing subjects and the use of modulating, repeating patterns to suggest animation, as well as the humor and humanity I see in manufactured objects.

Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Sew What, 2022. Mezzotint. 20 x 12 inches. Courtesy of the artist. This was printed from two plates: a black-and-white key plate rocked with an 85-gauge rocker and a color plate ground selectively with roulettes and wiped selectively. These images demonstrate the dialogue between my current work in painting and mezzotint.

[Left] Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Pipe Dream, 2003. Mezzotint and engraving. Plate: 2 ½ x 1 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist.

[Right] Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Serpentdipity, 2003. Mezzotint. Plate: 2 ½ x 1 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist. These two show burin engraving through a mezzotint ground.

Carol Wax (American, born 1953). Binder Spiral, 2023. Graphite. 127 x 23 in. Courtesy of the artist.

USEFUL LINKS

Carol’s website https://www.carolwax.com/

Jennifer Melby’s link https://www.jennifermelby.com/

Conrad Graeber’s link https://conradgraeber.com/