CALIFORNIA
S~~TE UNIV}~RSITY,
NORTHRIDGE
THE SCALE OF OBSERVATION AND VISUAL EFFECTS
ll
An abstraet submitted in partial satisfaction ~f the
requirement fer the degree of Master of Art in
Art
by
Mildred M. Davis
~---'
June} 1977
The abstract of Mildred M. Davis is approved:
Calif~rnia
State University, Northridge
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT
1
TECHNICAL ASPECTS
4
BIBLIOGRAPHY
6
LIST OF ILLUSTRATICNS
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
BIKE TRAILS
7
viscosity etching, 18ft
REFINERY #1
photo-etching, 18 1'
REFINERY #2
photo-etching, 18 1t
REACTOR
etching, 18 11
X
X
8
X
24"
9
X
24"
10
25 11
"
Figure 5
SETTLING GROUNDS
etching, 18 11 X 2411
Figure 6
TANKER
photo-etching, lst•
X
24 11
CONSTRUCTION
photo-etching, 18 11
X
24"
Figure 7
Figure 8
24"
11
SEA SHORE.
photo-etching, 18'' ·x 18H
iii
12
14
ABSTRACT
THE SCALE OF OBSERVATION AND VISUAL EFFECTS
by
Mildred M. Davis
Master of Arts in Art
"One cannot see with the eye
.alone. The mind co-operates
and confers siwnifieance on
what one sees.r
---Alex Eliot
Visual effects that develop with changes or shifts in
positions are always relative to tbe scale of observation
or frame 9f reference chosen. It is apparent that an object
of some magnitude cannot be seen ia its entirety unless one
is situated at a considerable distance from it. However,
that distance inevitably alters the object to the extent
that the eye no l0nger sees the original object, but the
mind having systemized the image directs the eye to see. In
an aerial frame of referenae, imaginative as well as real ,
this hypothesis is fully realized. The complexity inherent
1
2
1m the elements of Nature and Man--elements that. shape and
reshape t~e eart~'s surfaces--accords the artist an almost
endless source of inspiration with its ambiguous pattern3
of lines, shapes and colors.
Aerial photographs of uchrlsto 1 s Fence" triggered my
interest in this direction. The shfum1ering fabric fence,
snaking ite way across fields and mountains, evoked a feeling of its monumental importance when seen from the
ail~.
At
ground level this feeling diminished immeasurably since
only a small section could be seen at one time,·and with
the change in perspective a transmutation c-ccurr•ed.
This series of etchings then is an instinctual respom~e
ve ted a
to a particular frame of reference, one which motides ire .for enlip-)1tenment and insight into my ovm
perceptual habits. The knowledge that vlsual experiences
continually move in polarities emerged from this introepection, and the resultant change to an aerial frame of
reference seemed to be a natural move.
Frevious work had evcl ved from an inte1•es t in enla:t'g-·
i.o.g the btunan eye to ur.usurtl proport 5.ons. Rendered quite
realistically· t:ne human eye wa.s seen as un entirely c:tanged
entity in the magnified state. Along witt. the magnificntion
of subject matter, my metal plates increased in size. Now
tr.e 18 by 24 plate seemed small enourjl for my purpose. rr.he
reasons .for such changes hadn't occurred to me just then,
but creating a condition that deviates from old habits had
become an.integra.l part of my working methods. To produce
effects which appear to translate actual objects to a metamorphic state seems ideal to me, and this was the attitude
with which I undertook to create the etchings comprising
this ser•ies.
My future works msy in all probability move to yet
another direction, for this changing or shifting of reference points is presumably an inherent characteristic of the
artist and of art in general. Changes have always been the
life for6e of ert.
4
Technical Aspects
A viscosity demonstration by
Y~ishna
Reddy, the noted
artist from India, enticed me into this fascinating method
of obtaining a multiplicity of colors in a print from just
one plate. The etching Bike.Trails is just such a print,
that resulted from a photograph of motor-cycle trails in
the desert. Altbough this was not an aerial view, the illsion of seeing the trails from above is intentional. Many
different color combinations were tried before I found one
which gave this effect. The zinc plate itself is deeply
etched in three levels.
The photo-etcbing Refinery #1 is a combination of intaglio color and surface roll. A variation of this same
plate was used to create Refinery #2 which is a night-time
interpretation of the same subject imaginatively seen from
an aerial frame of reference.
The four plate etching Reactor, or more properly four
piece plate, was a troublesome plate that defied a satisfactory solution. The image was deeply etched but color
did nothing to enhance it. I finally decided to cut up the
part which seemed the least successful and rework it, but
this entailed more cutting and rearranging until to my
5
surprise the solution came suddenly and unexpectedly. Inked in two intaglio colors and one surface roll the result
was quite successful.
One of my most successful etchings Settling Grounds
is a two plate four color print. Both plates were inked
intaglio and surface rolled, but the first printing was allowed to dry before printing the second plate over it. The
somber colors appear to be successful in conveying a feeling of darkness, dampness
a~d
of decaying vegetation that
ie prevalent wherever water has settled. A photograph,
taken while looking down at a drying stream
bed~
was the
source of this print.
The etching Tanker evolved from a minute section of
a magazine photograph. I enlarged this tiny portion many
times its original size and the dotted effect became more
pronounced and interesting. A photo-etching was made from
it and etched fairly deep. The inking process involved two
intaglio colors and a surface color as well.
These then are the compilation of my work and the attitudes which were essential for this esthetic experience.
'lhe lnter-action· of mind and eye maintains a parallel
course, and these phenomena which occur with changes of
reference point5 are readily understood by the artist who
constantly seeks to expand the unusual point of view.
6
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beittel, Kenneth R.
Mind and Context in the Art of
Draw in~ Holt, Rinehart and- Wins ton, Inc., New
Yori{,
72.
Chamber, F. G.
"The Study of Art in a Cultural
Context" The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Crltici5m. XXXI1/2 Winter 1973.
Duce.s5e, Curt John.
The Philosophy of Art. Dover Publications Inc., New Yo~~66.
Eliot, Alex.
Sip~t and Ins{gh~. McDowell and
Obolensky, PubiTSners, New or , 1959.
Gombrich, E. H.
Art and Illusion. Princeton University Press, 3raeaition, ~
Knobler, Nathan.
The Visual Dialogue. Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, Inc.,- New York, "1966.
Langer, Susanne K.
Reflections on Art. Oxford University Press, New YorK, 1961.