Friday, July 6, 2007

Railroad Town (edition)

Production is complete:

Flora carved Railroad Town in 1951 while living in Taxco. The trial proof relief print above was produced in December 2006. The June 2007 numbered edition (of 50), just completed at Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress in Knoxville, is even better (alas, no photo yet). Most of the "saltiness" (white flecking) visible above in the peripheries has been eliminated by printmaker Bryan Baker. The impression is solid—and stunning.

The longer I stare at the details of this woodcut (click on image to enlarge), the more I'm convinced this is one of Flora's definitive masterpieces. Every quirk and every nuance is evident: music, architecture, dogs, and trains; wild contours and interlocking figures; degenerate behavior, multi-tiered cutaways, and unfathomable anatomy. It's a graphic traffic jam. As Flora once confessed, "I could never stand a static space."

The edition, struck from the original artist's block, features black ink on 280g archival-quality Rives BFK cream. The block measures 11" x 22-1/4", and the full print (with border, not shown above) measures 18-3/4" x 30". Each print is hand-titled and numbered, and authenticated in letterpress type (also not shown above).

We are releasing five unframed prints (#46-50) from the edition at $600 each (plus s/h; PayPal accepted). After those are sold, we will release a second block of five at $700 each. For subsequent releases, prices will increase as stock is depleted. We hope to offer these prints for sale officially by late July. If you want to get a jump on the market, email us. No one reads blogs anymore. If you've gotten this far, you're an insider.

UPDATE (14 JUL 07): First block of five quickly sold out. We have released prints #41-45 at $700 each.

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