Wire-Brush Electrographic Art

ABSTRACTS The Abstracts section of Leonardo is intended to be a rapid publication forum. Texts can be up to 750 words in length with no illustrations, or up to 500 words in length with one black-and-white illustration. Abstracts are acceptedfor publication upon recommendation of any one member of the Leonardo Editorial Board, who will then forward them to the Main Editorial Office with his or her endorsement. WIRE-BRUSH ELECTROGRAPHIC ART Mate Gyula, Alkotmany u.39, H-7150 Bonyhad, Hungary. Received 15 November 1993. Accepted for publication by Roger F. Malina. I have used several methods for artistic expression, and most of them have required one or more technical instruments . (I have drawn with coffee; worked with enamel, collage, photography , radiography, silkscreen and carbon ironing; and used various combinations of the above.) Since 1991,1 have been working with electrographics—or, rather, electrographics has become the proper tool for my self-expression. Electrographics is the term I use to describe a form of art (Fig. 1) diat has come out of converting the photocopy machine—an instrument designed to operate on electrostatic principles—from its original function into a tool for artistic aims. During the creation of an artistic work, any instrument can inspire innumerable new methods, and each instrument can become the basis for an entire life's work. Personally, however, I have never stuck with any of my inventions —simply because I could never afford to do so. I have always managed to overcome my limitsjust as they start to imprison me. My obstinate search for the new has led me to changes and challenges. It is no surprise, then, that the invention of wire-brush art (see Fig. 1) was due to an accident. My copy machine broke down, but I felt compelled to continue working. I had some paper that I had run through the copier twice, which I had set aside for making collages. (I had found that double copying results in a soft coating of ink, suitable for further processing.) I realized that flexing or crumpling the sheet loosened the toner along the breaks in the coating enough to allow it to be brushed off easily. The quality of the result of the brushing process depends, for the most part, on two factors: 1. The material and thickness of the wire brush used—a steel brush will leave a clear, sharp image, but tends to pull the paper off along with the toner. A copper brush makes for a more timeconsuming operation and results in a fine, wadding-like grain. (I suggest a medium-hard brush for the first try.) 2. The intensity and direction of the brush strokes (one-way, transversal, circular , etc.). I have also used emery paper and sponges, which provide a much softer grain and allow one to reproduce the exact contour of a given object. However , too much pressure may wear through the sheet. Any object is suitable for use in making wire-brush art. I often use a glass plate, sieve or template. One can put the prepared sheet beside, under or on the chosen object, dien brush off the toner along the resulting contours. By placing the object under or on the surface of the paper, one obtains its positive or negative image, respectively. If the object is unfastened and moves during the process of brushing, the grain will be rather fuzzy. In order to control the actual process, I suggest wiping off the loosened toner after each brush stroke. I have found that a normal copier-paper weight 80 g/m2 works best. Following are a few proposals for developing my original method. In general , what I have described above as mistakes could also be new ways of forming pictures. One could experiment with different colors, though this should be done with much care—the third or fourth coating of toner is less likely to adhere to the previous one, and the thickness may even cause the sheet to get stuck in the machine. One could also experiment with covering the copy board to keep certain parts of the sheet white. What I have described here are only means and methods, not the aims...