RENAISSANCE OFTHEEARTH
The Renaissance of the Earth revolutionizes what it means to think with the early modern past about our environmental future. Through a range of crossdisciplinary collaborative models, it puts students, artists, and scholars at the center of an interdisciplinary research mandate with the goal of discovering diverse avenues for creating sustainable and equitable life.
KINNEY CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RENAISSANCE STUDIES
ARTIST'S STATEMENT GLOSSARY
In Elusive Prize: Wonder, Wing & Transmutation, I explore themes of alchemy, science, and the human pursuit of an elusive prize in the name of immortality Inspired by the texts and materials from the Kinney Center’s rare book collection, I use iron gall inks, vellum, and other historically specific pigments in both sculpture and monoprints to persue ideas of ambition taking wing in the early modern world and our own.
A permeating and iconic representation of human aspiration across time is the wing. From acclaimed paintings of angels who guard or hover over us, to winged figureheads who protect sailors, and cherubs who peek from the edges of early printed maps, we celebrate and admire wings. As early modern literature and emblem books caution, the mythical Icarus soars too close to the heat of the sun and his man-made wings, waxed to his body, fail as he plummets into the waves below. The abstracted wing shape you see here at times also references flames or waves that gesture toward the shifting forms of human ambition from Prometheus stealing fire from the Gods to merchants crossing stormy seas. This shape invites us to reflect on the wonder and recklessness of our own hubris
Early modern alchemists also sought an “elusive prize” an elixir for eternal life or a method to turn base metals to precious ones. One aspect of alchemy is learning the subtle properties of a substance in order to manipulate it. Similarly, I researched the distinct material elements of ink, animal skin, pigment, and paper in the Kinney Center’s collection to study and manipulate some of these same substances in the works presented here. Knowledge of the component parts of a given ink or paper is a vital aspect of my work. By fabricating historical substances, I explore intimate connections between past and present.
Abaca:Afastgrowingplantlikebananaorhempwithlong fibersmakethisaverystrongpaperevenwhenusedinonly agossamerthinness.
CamWood:AsubstanceIcollectedwhilelivinginCameron Itiscommonlyusedinritualspriortoayounggirl’smarriage IloveitsvariousrichredtonesandIhavebeenusingitinmy printsforyears Itisinallofthe“VowsTowardsPeace” monoprints
Dahliaflowers:Pigmentedandgroundflowerswereused in“Transmutation#9”
HoneyandBlackLocustwood:Burnedthiswinterinour woodstove,sifted,ground,andfabricatedintoanoil-based inkusedinallofthe“VowsTowardsPeace”monoprints IronGallInk:LovedduringtheRenaissanceforitsdark richness,Iusedthismaterialinallthe“VowsTowardsPeace” monoprintstorecallthe17th-centurysheetsofmusicon linenpaperIstudiedattheKinneyCenterwhichemploythis ink.
LapisLazuli:Groundstonewasusedin“Transmutation#4”.
Sheepskin:Oneofmanyanimalskinsusedinthe Renaissance(alongwithcalfandgoatskins)forbookmaking andbookbinding.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
BrandonGravingisasculptorandprintmakerwhooften worksonaverylargescaleinmediumsthatincludebronze, neon,paper,resins,steel,andwood.Sheistheownerand masterprintmakeratGravityPressExperimentalPrintShop whichholdsoneofthelargestplatenpressesintheworld. Herworkhasbeenexhibitedwidelyinmuseums,aswellas publicandprivatecollections.
Learnmoreaboutherwork: www.brandongraving.com