Horace batchelor and FAB 208

Continuing with looking at low-fi printing of mid last century and making associations with other communication at the time I was drawn to Radio Luxembourg and the fading signal of 208 medium wave as a comparison of lost identities.

Posted here are some initial visuals exploring both spot colours and full colour on faded stock on the theme. This is leading to a more full research of the mid last century research and the considerations for 'critiquing retro'. Whilst this can be associated with 'revivalism' it is not my intention. I aim to reflect on the period and with the irony of digital as a production tool, explore the visual aesthetics produced by mechanical processes of the time - out of register spot colout/fullcolour process, coarse screen halftone etc - to create a series of studies that identify and define many of the visual elements that are now being lost within the perfection of digital processing.

These playing card sized images are some starting points for consideration whilst I am now building some posters on the theme.

Assemblage from a walk

A recent walk at Llantwitt Major in South Wales reminded me of the 'beach walk' assemblage of Peter Blake. So, on this short walk I collected various elements washed up on the shore to create an impromptu assemblage on the tarmac on the carpark, taking a photo' of it on my phone... hence the limited image quality. As with my collage the aim was one of balance and aesthetic juxtaposition. The addition of man-made objects gives some comparison of shape and form.

artists/period ephemera

Visiting the Rostra and Rooksmoor gallery in Bath today I was interested in the work of Aine Venables. Her work on show consisted of digital prints inspired by ephemera from the last century and digitally collaged. Some of the work appear as visual 'lists' - the milk labels - with a contextual visual imagery. Others utilise period visual icons in more aesthetic compositions.

The demise of the halftone screen?

Progress is slow! However, having considered the demise of the halftone screen in favour of the dither pattern digital print I now feel that I have some direction. It is of interest to me that the visual aesthetic I have been exploring with the juxtaposition of elements of aged ephemera in collages has something in common with the printing processes of the mid 20th century; some sense of lost  qualities of image influenced by paper, ink and processes.

I have become acutely aware that with the growing sophistication of digital processes that many of the ephemeral and 'period' qualities evident in print from the last century, particularly the late 40s, 50s and early 60s is now visually dead; partly due to the passage of time but importantly due to a rapidly developing ues of digital production. Consequently the visual components and qualities of that mid century printing now have a growing importance as a context for the development of print production and consumerism and a potential key to our understanding of a visual aesthetic.

My current investigation looks at the exaggeration of the elements of halftone colour. Inspired by the book mentioned in a previous post - 'Sayonara Home Run', I have begun to experiment with and process digitally, aspects of the previous mid century visual aesthetic to question the rapid decline of the use of the halftone process, readability and aesthetic appreciation. To begin this process I have returned to imagery collected to produce the 'Dick and Jane British Tour' from early in the Summer this year and a couple of results are posted here. To further this visual exploration I am now gathering wider ranging ephemera and imagery from the previous mid century to explore the process, the aesthetic and relationship to current trends. Many artists/illustrators are exploring the 'flat colour' retro approach which perhaps, has its influence from earlier in the last century. I feel that it is now worthwhile to explore in more depth the visual paradox of the halftone.

The images here when seen at full size (60cm x60cm) compare the 'lo-fi' coarse resolution halftone with modern digital products. Equally, there is a comment on the here and now in the narrative.