---

Continuing its mission to offer interesting and varied reflections into the world of art, the Attleboro Arts Museum is currently displaying the first National Juried Monotype/Monoprint Exhibition.

The mission of the Monotype Guild of New England is to promote the appreciation of unique, one-of-a-kind prints through workshops, educational demonstrations, and exhibitions.

Founded in 1985 by Cape Cod artist Beverly Edwards as a New England organization, the guild has expanded nationally, with members from 11 states beyond New England.

As part of that growth, the guild embarked on this first national exhibition.

"The Attleboro Arts Museum is delighted to host the Monotype Guild of New England for this rare and prestigious exhibition dedicated to the art of the unique print," AAM Director Mim Fawcett said. "The exhibition features exceptional art from all over the country. Each piece is filled with great personality." As explained by exhibition co-chairwoman and guild member Alice Merlone, such an exhibition is not a common occurrence.

"In general, large well-established museums do not traditionally host shows for organizations," Merlone said. "Additionally, history tells us there have not been exhibitions in large museums dedicated to living monotype/monoprint artists. We had hoped for a university venue, but had not found one that would have a large enough gallery, or one willing to take a chance.

"Once I saw the Attleboro Museum, and met Mim, I thought it would be a great fit. We were embarking on a new, untried venture - a national show. At the time, I perceived the Attleboro as an entity moving ahead, as having a vision. We wanted a great space, and the word 'museum' in its name would be a great draw to a national pool of monotype/monoprint artists."

With a good response from artists, the exhibition drew nearly 300 entries 43 states, and juror Aprile Gallant, curator of Prints, Photographs and Drawings at the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton selected 126 pieces.

Described as one of the least rule-bound as well as the most flexible and democratic of printmaking media, as it can require little equipment other than a plate, ink, brush, and paper, the monotype/monoprint has been used by artists to tap the creative impulse since the 17th century, and Gallante says that the guild exemplifies the artform in this national exhibit.

"Despite worries that the advent of digital media would undercut the impetus toward hand printmaking, creative and inventive monotypists have absorbed computer-based imagery, adding yet another arrow to their artistic arsenal," Gallante said. "The MGNE National Exhibition shows the full range of techniques, imagery, and forms through a cross-section of both the region's and the country's finest artists working in the medium of monotype/monoprint."

Monotypes are created by applying paint or ink to a flat surface and then pressing a sheet of paper to that surface. The process of transferring ink to paper can be repeated many times to build the image. The earliest such prints date back to around 1640, with Degas and Gauguin later experimenting with the method.

Today, it is said that there is a virtual explosion of new ways to create monotypes, and the exhibition at the museum is said to be an exciting showcase of the varieties of work born of the process of creating unique prints.

Merlone co-chaired the exhibition along with John Avakian, and both artists will be showing their monoprints.

Merlone, currently the president pro tem of the guild, has a piece in the show titled "Contemplation I, Series 2," which she says is considered a monoprint because it contains repeatable images, such as screen stencil, wood cut and litho plate. Had she just rolled ink, drawn and/or painted on the plate, with no image that could be repeated, Merlone explains that the piece would have been a monotype. "The process is exciting and each step leads to the next with constant review and assessment," Merlone says of the monoprint process. "The possibilities are endless, and monotype/monoprint artists routinely use all sorts of printing techniques associated with edition printing."

In describing the process she used on this particular piece, Merlone says she worked on a Lexon plate, a very thin plexi, and inked primarily with rollers initially, tracing the large outer circle with a Sharpie pen on the square plate.

Turning the plate over, she says she then applied ink with a roller, carefully wiping away any ink that had entered the circle. The plate was then placed on the press bed, paper was placed on top, and it was then passed through the press, with the process repeated several times until she had a depth of color that was acceptable.

The other circles were done in the same way, and the central image was done, first with a screen, then with a woodcut. The last part of the process on the outer edges of the large circle was done using lithography, an aluminum plate with the circular image etched, and then inked with ochre and white ink mix, and the print passed many times through the press.

Avakian, who worked side by side with Merlone from the inception of the exhibition, has a piece in it titled "Nuritza," which not only exemplifies the process of monotyping but offers a way for Avakian to express personal reflections.

"Nuritza" is part of Avakian's "Portrait Series," which he says explores the past through the present as a process of discovery, transformation, and rebirth, beginning with a personal photo taken by him.

Describing the process, Avakian says the original photo was scanned, enlarged, and examined on the monitor, zooming in on different parts of the digital image, until he began to see "what was unforeseeable or unnoticed when the photo was taken."

"I also begin to realize my re-connection to the one photographed and to the photographer - me - at that time," he said. "Taking my discoveries into account, the image is enhanced and augmented to express my reconnection to the portrait-image and to transform it to include the aesthetic moments of changes I am experiencing."

The completed digital image, after it has been transferred into a paper-Xerox plate, is inked and printed onto a 40-by-30-inch white Reeves BFK paper.

Avakian notes that the portraits are sometimes printed with already-printed images from another time, some going back as far as a decade, and even at this end-stage, depending on the expressiveness demanded of the newly transformed portrait, another layer or two might be added to finish the portrait.

"When the 'portrait' reaches its final destination through the layering of images, it has been reborn - transformed into the dignified, contemplative realm of art, and to the larger arena of life - humanity," he said.

Janette Sears can be reached by phone or fax at 508-222-0993 or by e-mail at janette.boulay@gmail.com.

If You Go...

WHAT: National Juried Monotype/Monoprint Exhibition, hosted by the Monotype Guild of New England.

WHEN: Through Oct. 3; opening reception 2-5 p.m. Saturday.

WHERE: Attleboro Arts Museum, 86 Park St., Attleboro.

GALLERY HOURS: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

ADMISSION: Free.

MORE INFO: www.attleboroartsmuseum.org or 508-222-2644.