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Conversations in a Cobweb by Ian Hugo

Conversations in a Cobweb by Ian Hugo

Conversations in a Cobweb

Ian Hugo

Title

Conversations in a Cobweb

 
Artist

Ian Hugo

  1898 - 1985 (biography)
Year
1942  
Technique
engraving and soft-ground etching printed in relief 
Image Size
4 15/16 x 5" platemark 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
6 of 30  
Annotations
titled in lower center, editioned in lower left, dated after signature 
Reference
 
Paper
cream wove 
State
published 
Publisher
artist 
Inventory ID
19971 
Price
SOLD
Description

Ian Hugo did "Conversations in a Cobweb" in 1942 at S.W. Hayter's Atelier 17 in New York. Hugo had begun working with Hayter, with whom he was familiar with in Paris, in order to illustrate the books he was publishing with his wife, Anais Nin.

Hugo used crumpled paper and fabric, impressed into softground, creating a weblike structure. He then used line engraving to create linear profiles and shapes encased in a black background. Hugo then printed the plate relief (the surface of the copper plate), which results in the intaglio lines printing as white and the untouched areas on the plate printing black.

The overall effect is like a beam of light shining on a cobweb at night. The "conversations" are tangled and obscured.