The Suspension of Images on Paper in Polyester Resin

Leonardo,Vol. 5, pp. 155-157. Pergamon Press 1972. Printed in Great Britain THE SUSPENSION OF IMAGES ON PAPER IN POLYESTER RESIN William Opalewski* 1 . DESCRIPTIONOF THE CASTINGS A pitfall for an artist working with non-traditional materials, such as polyester resin, is that he can become so fascinated by their unusual properties that technicalconsiderationsoverrideaestheticones. Howaworkwasaccomplished,rather than what was accomplished,takes on undueimportance. By combining novel materials with traditional media, in this case polyester resin with images on paper, guidelines can be set to profit from the unexploredpropertiesof thematerial. Themarriage of the new with the old should result in a greater sensitivityin handling the polyester resin and give newlifetoimagesexecutedwithtraditional media. The basic alteration of a picture on paper caused by the suspensionof it in this resin is that the paper on which it was printed or drawn becomes permanently saturated with the resin and, thereby, transparent. All that one sees is a floating image. The imageis no longerlimitedto a two-dimensional surface, for depth is added to it. Light passes through the surround of the image, adding a new visual quality, or it is refracted within the casting, becoming a new part of the work. Transmitted light invites one to look into the image rather than at it, which I find more satisfying. Color is affected in three important ways: (a) the clear resin intensifies hues by giving them a ‘wet’ look; (b)if the resin is tinted with aparticular dye, a special mood is given to the image and (c) because the casting is transparent, the color of any background on whichthe workisplaced affectsit. Shape and volume of the castingare important, since they fix the size of the area around the enclosed picture and they determine the optical effects of reflected and refracted light. 2. PREPARATION OF THE PRINT OR DRAWING FOR CASTING I have used lithographs because of: (a) their versatility and the personal qualitiesrevealed by the artist’sdrawingtechniques;(b) the washesand gray tonalities that can be produced on a lithographic stone or plate and (c) the proofing paper, which I Fig. 1. ‘ E l iEli Lema Sabathani’,grease drawingembeddedinpolyesterresin ,44 x 36 in, 1969. * Artist living at W240 N 6 4 6 5 Maple Ave., Sussex, Wisconsin 53089, U.S.A. (Received28 September 1971.) Fig. 2. ‘Organic Sphere’, lithograph embedded in polyester resin, 26 x 21 in, 1968. 155 156 William Opalewski have found is most suitable for suspension in a casting. Quality rag papers are too dense to allow the resin to penetrate and air bubbles are likely to form. There are no other special requirements in this technique when lithographs are used [I]. Multicolored effects or heavy build-ups of ink in a print pose no problems. When drawing directly on paper or altering lithographs, one should not use materials that will dissipate when the paper becomes saturated with resin. Grease crayon (Fig. 1) or finely ground chalk rubbed deeply into the surface (Fig. 2) are very good, for they insurea strong image. When handling a picture on paper, one should take care to avoid smudges of grease, perspiration etc. These can cause undesirable ‘white bloom’. No fixatives should be used because they can interfere with the saturation of the paper. In order to allow the image to float freelywithin the casting, any excess paper should be cropped. For large images, it may be advantageous to cut the picture in sections for easier handling and sections may be placed at different depths, if desired. 3. PREPARATION OF THE MOLD The mold, of course, determines the shape of the resin casting. A glass mold produces a casting with a very smooth, reflective surface. One made of wood may result in interesting grain patterns. One with a matt surface yields a translucent surface. Therefore, the selection of mold materials is important . Some other mold materials are: polished metal, tinfoil and high gloss epoxy such as ‘Miraplate ’ (O’Brien Paint Co., South Bend, Indiana 46621, U.S.A.). These normally do not require a mold release agent. Mold materials such as cardboard , plaster and Portland cement require a release agent such as ‘Partall’ (Ram Chemical Corp., Gardina, Calif., U.S.A.)or petroleum jelly. An example of...