Staccato is a generative art project based on my experimental letterpress printmaking practice.
Staccato 0
It was released as a set of 200 unique iterations with Art Blocks September 16 2022.
The core inspiration for Staccato is letterpress printmaking and its process and materials.
Letterpress is beautiful. The distribution, ratios and orginization of the supplies is strict but organically decaying since each piece is handmade and worn.
It’s a wonderful balance of upkeep and entropy.
A drawer of wooden spacing material.
The process of letterpress printing involves filling a rectangular space called a “bed” with shapes and locking them in place wtih pressure on 2 or more axis. Locking the shapes in place ensures they don’t move during inking and printing.
Lead letterpress shapes locked up and inked
This printmaking process introduced randomness from the simple fact that the equipment is old and worn. The shapes have knicks and scratches and don’t print evenly. Inking by hand introduces inconsistencies of ink coverage. Randomness was introduced intentionally from adding the shapes without a pre-defined pattern or intention.
A typical experimental printmaking session involves finding a set of shapes I like. Putting them all in the press as fast as possible, inking by hand and printing a single piece. Pulling the print of the press is always a surprise because I don’t know how exactly it will look.
After pulling a print and inspecting it I’ll make a small adjustment, hand ink and pull another print. I’ll then repeat this process until I’ve made as many adjustments as I can think of or the studio closes.
I pin the pieces on the wall as I work so I can have an overview of the variations as I print.
This is generative art with the letterpress that I was doing in 2007, before I learned to code.
“Staccato” applies the constraints of this experimental process and letterpress to a generative system. The shapes used are based off of basic elemental symbols that are commonly found in letterpress studios. The features “margin unlock” and “pressure axis” are based on the process of locking the letterpress shapes into the rectangular bed. The margin is based off of letterpress since it’s not possible to print full-bleed on a sheet of paper because of how the press grips the pape’. Even the rectangular from is based on the shape of the press.
“Staccato” applies the constraints of this experimental process and letterpress to a generative system. The shapes used are based off of basic elemental symbols that are commonly found in letterpress studios. The features “margin unlock” and “pressure axis” are based on the process of locking the letterpress shapes into the rectangular bed. The margin is based off of letterpress since it’s not possible to print full-bleed on a sheet of paper because of how the press grips the pape’. Even the rectangular from is based on the shape of the press.
Staccato 85
The 200 mints of “Staccato” are an automated expression of a day of me exploring in the printshop.
Contrast is a key mechanic of Staccato. It forces the eye to bounce between positive and negative space. The eye is not able to perceive foreground and background simutanusolsy thus we shift between seeing these two forms separately. In music “Staccato” means “performed with each note sharply detached or separated from the others.” This theme of sharp detachment between figure and ground fit the concept of the visual effect perfectly.
