|
In 1968 Newman tried his hand at etching for
the first time. The technique involves covering a metal plate
with wax, then scratching marks into it. The plate is placed
in an acid bath, where the areas no longer protected by the
wax film are eaten away. These eroded channels carry the ink
when the plate is finally printed.
Newman left behind very few drawings, so this
series of prints, which he titled Notes, offers a
rare insight into his intuitive way of working. The first
few show him experimenting with different strokes, using cross-hatching
and stippling to create his familiar bands.
The title implies that the etchings can be seen
both as a form of note-taking, in which Newman distilled his
ideas, and as musical notation, each print taking its place
in an improvised harmony. Like the Cantos, Newman
made eighteen Notes, the number whose Hebrew characters
spell the word 'life'.
|
