CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
MARKING
Tlt~E
An abstract submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Art
by
Mollie Doctrow
January 1984
0 '
The Abstract of Mollie Doctrow is approved:
Marvin Harden
Ci M!y Marsh -
Tom Fricano, Chair
California State University, Northridge
i i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is with a deeper understanding and appreciation of my family, friends, and teachers that
I submit this paper.
For their sincere and
careful guidance I thank my graduate committee,
Tom Fricano, Marvin Harden, and Cindy Marsh.
A
special thanks to my parents, Flo and Jerry
Doctrow; my grandfather, Mr. Sam Silverstein; and
my friend, Ron Fisher, for their love, support,
and encouragement.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
i i i
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .
v
INTRODUCTION
1
DEVELOPMENT
3
TECHNIQUE
6
CONCLUSION
7
BIBLIOGRAPHY
8
iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure
~
1
Swamp Song . .
2
Merlin Make Me Wise
10
3
Dead End . . .
11
4
Broken Fence
12
5
Memory of a Garden . .
13
6
Keeper of the Gate
14
7
Air
. . .
15
8
Cold Chill
16
9
Daydream in Blue .
17
Thicket
18
10
9
...... .
v
.
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ABSTRACT
MARKING TIME
by
Mollie Doctrow
Master of Arts in Art
INTRODUCTION
In the November 5, 1983, issue of Artweek, Jeff
Kelley wrote,
11
To call something a 'mark' is to empty it
of reference other than the reference to itself ... l
This
could be a profound statement, but I suspect it is very
near the opposite, shallow and simplistic.
It would be a
profound statement depending upon Kelley's metaphysics.
Kelley is saying that a mark is just a mark.
statement about reality.
This makes a
Things are just what they are.
But Kelley is really taking a formalistic viewpoint about
1Jeff Kelley, "The Inquiring Mark, 11 Artweek Vol. 14,
No. 37. November 5, 1983, page 5.
l
2
what constitutes a work of art--three marks on the left,
two on the right, and you have a picture.
Japanese art has a long tradition of using marks to
represent objects and processes.
With simple, subtle
strokes, the Japanese artist deftly captures the flight of
a hummingbird, the galloping horse, grasses bending in the
wind.
Curiously enough, the Japanese artist strives for a
concrete and realistic art.
But realistic does not mean
factual realism in the Western sense of the word.
But,
rather, it is realistic to the reality of immediate
experience, which goes beyond perceptual qualities. 2
The
Japanese artist seeks to capture the "essence" or "life
force 11 of an object or experience. 3
Mark making for me began as a response to what constitutes space, tiny particles.
Space isn't something
"filled-in"; rather, space is composed of matter--alive
and intelligent.
A "squiggly 11 dot denoted matter.
Marks
proved to be the most direct means to capture an idea or
represent something.
With the barest of means, mark
making manifests the internal an9 the external.
It is a
visual shorthand with the potential to signify, represent,
conjure up associations, and arouse emotions.
2 charles A. Moore, ed., The Jatanese Mind--Essentials
of Ja anese Philoso h and CultureHonolulu: East-West
Center Press, 1967 , p. 12.
3 Makoto Ueda, Literary and Art Theories in Japan
(Cleveland, Ohio: The Press of Western Reserve University,
1967), p. 135.
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DEVELOPMENT
A two-day visit to a swamp provided the necessary,
specific, physical impetus to develop the series
Time.
11
11
Marking
The swamp left a haunting memory of overgrown,
tangled vines, twisted branches, dried-up leaves, bits of
clothing and paper.
I sought to capture the rushing wind,
the crackling leaves, the dancing light, the traces of
humanity, all interweaving with each other, moving through
time.
Specific marks were used to represent various ele-
ments.
Layering marks added the element of time and the
means to portray the simultaneity of several
11
events. 11
A love-hate relationship with the swamp developed.
The dense, dark foliage was engulfing.
of death, loathing and fear.
It aroused feelings
And yet, simultaneously, the
crisp, fresh air injected a sparkling life to the myriad of
details, beckoning surrender.
In its wake solitude and
peace remained, coexisting with fear of the unknown.
Color,
and the application and immediacy of certain marks, were
used to express the emotional aspects of the experience.
Collaged elements were added to heighten the physical
presence of the pieces and suggest more explicitly the
human involvement.
Eleven prints comprise the
It begins with the
11
Swamp Song. 11
3
11
Marking Time 11 series.
The piece is composed
4
entirely of layered marks.
A large brushstroke
(rhythm)~
various "scraggly" marks (fragments), a "net-like" drip
(tangled vines), sticks, the "squiggly" dot and printed
objects (screens, papers, washers) comprise the repertoire
of marks used in the prints.
With the "Swamp Song,"
"Merlin Make Me Wise," "Stagnant View," and "Dead End," I
sought to capture the deep, dark mystery of nature overgrown.
"Broken Fence," "Memory of a Garden," "Keeper of
the Gate," and "Air" are primarily about the rhythm and
variety of the swamp experience.
They range in color and
mood from the light, atmospheric color or "Air" to the
bright, dancing color of "Memory of a Garden."
Curiously
enough, along the banks of the swamp domesticated red
geraniums grew beside vivid pink, wild sweet peas and gold
mustard flowers.
In "Broken Fence" the all-over gold pat-
tern of the marks is emphasized.
This is intended to create
a more compressed confrontation of the experience and
heighten the metaphysical associations.
11
Cold Chill, 11 "Daydream in Blue," and
11
Thicket" more
aggressively seek to capture mood, place, and movement.
Collage is used more liberally.
larger, the marks are bolder.
The color patches are
The clarity of colors in
the "Cold Chill," the coolness of the purples, the clusters
of collaged papers and tangled marks evoke fragments caught
up in a gust of wind.
The
11
Chill" is that moment of recog-
nition when, with goose bumps, the world is a cold place,
p •
5
and be i ng warm i s all that matters .
The
a real thicket than an emotional thicket.
11
Th i c ke t 11 i s 1 e s s
It is a place
where memory and reality are tangled up, going around and
around.
11
0aydream in Blue 11 is that patch of cerulean blue
peaking through the foliage, dancing about as the trees
bend and sway.
TECHNIQUE
All of the work was printed from a collograph base
plate.
The base plate, made primarily with gel medium,
carried the main image.
This image was enhanced either by
printing a secondary plate or with monotype techniques.
This involved placing acetate over the print, drawing marks
with a grease pencil, reversing the acetate, applying ink
over the pencil marks, and running through the press.
Most of the prints have been "run through" the
press at least six times.
The base plate was often printed
three times in order to achieve the desired density.
ink was applied with small rollers.
Thick
The goal was to over-
print as necessary in order to build up an actual paint
surface on the paper.
Different papers required varying
amounts of ink to achieve this effect.
Arches, Rives BFK,
and German Etching were used in this series.
German Etch-
ing required the least amount of runs to achieve a rich,
dense surface.
The physical presence of the work was an important
consideration.
It was necessary that the work exude
"abjectness" rather than "picture-ness."
My intent was to
capture the physical and metaphysical experience of the
swamp rather than represent a picture of it.
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CONCLUSION
The swamp served a secondary purpose.
It became a
perceptual metaphor for the way in which space is structured.
Intertwining branches formed a three-dimensional
model for things to hang-on, move-through, and behind.
In
"Thicket," transparent purple printed over black weaves in
and out of hot, intense gold patches and black and red
jagged marks.
This was intended to suggest fragmented
memories intertwining with the present.
Mark making is not without reference to something
beyond itself.
instant in time.
At the very least a mark represents an
This logically implies a maker, a sur-
face, materials, etc.
But further, a strategically placed
mark, sensitively executed, hqs the potential to capture
a specific feeling, arouse emotions, refer to itself and
beyond itself.
7
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hofstader, Albert. Agony and Epitaph.
Braziller Inc., 1970.
New York: George
Kahler, Erich. The True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
Ohio State University Press, 1960.
Kelley, Jeff. 11 The Inquiring Mark. 11 Artweek Vol. J.i,
No. 37. November 5, 1983, p. 5.
Mathieu, Georges. From the Abstract to the Possible.
Paris: Editions Du Cercle D'Art Contemporain, 1960.
Moore, Charles A. The Japanese Mind--Essentials of Japanese
Philosolhy and Culture. Honolulu: East-West Center
Press, 967.
Rose, Bernice. Jackson Pollock: Drawing into Painting.
New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.
Seitz, William. Mark Tobey.
Modern Art, 1962.
Schmied, Wieland.
1966.
Tobey.
New York: The Museum of
New York: Henry N. Abrams, Inc.,
Ueda, Makoto. Literary and Art Theories in Japan. Cleveland, Ohio: The Press of Western Reserve University,
1967.
8
9
Figure 1.
Swamp Song (26x38 11
)
)·
·,
10
.·.
Figure 2 .
Merlin Make Me Wise
(18 ~ x32")
l2
\
Figure 4.
Broken Fence (26x38")
14
Figure 6.
Keeper of the Gate (26x38 11 )
15
Figure 7.
Air (26x38 11
)
l6
j·
Figure 8.
Cold Chill
(30x3l
11
)
17
Figure 9.
Daydream in Blue (30x31
11
)