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© Vija Celmins

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Concentric Bearings A 1984
  • Artist Rooms
Celmins began experimenting with double-image prints following such double-image drawings as 'Untitled (Desert-Galaxy) 1974'. She combined images from photographs she had collected which were particularly significant to her. The 'Concentric Bearings' prints form an important series which were produced with the Gemini G. E. L. print workshop in Los Angeles. The series explores images of 'turning space'. The rotary device shown here is taken from Marcel Duchamp’s 'Rotary Glass Plates (Precision Optics) 1920'. Duchamp’s machine produced optical illusions by spinning an abstract design. Celmins drew Duchamp’s rotary device from a photograph and then transferred it to the plate using photogravure. It is placed next to Celmins's own image of stars turning in the night sky.

Glossary Open

Abstract art

Art in which there is no attempt to represent anything existing in the world, particularly used of the 20th century onwards. ‘Abstraction’ refers to the process of making images that may in part derive from the visible world but which are reduced to basic formal elements.

Photogravure

A photographic negative is transferred onto a copper plate, which can then be manipulated like an etching. It allows for creative working and results in a wide range of tones in the finished work.

Print

An image pressed or stamped onto paper or fabric. This encompasses a wide variety of techniques, usually produced in multiples, although one-off prints, known as monoprints, are also included. The term is also applied to photographic images.

Abstract art, Photogravure, Print

Details

  • Acc. No. AR00469
  • Medium Aquatint, photo-etching and drypoint on paper
  • Size left image: 20.80 x 13.80 cm; right image: 24.10 x 17.90 cm (paper 60.80 x 46.80 cm) (framed: 65.00 x 51.50 x 3.90 cm)
  • Credit ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008

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