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Etching with aquatint in color on Rives BFK paper
Image size: 22 3/4 x 29 3/4 inches (57.8 x 75.6 cm)
Paper size: 26 1/8 x 34 7/8 inches (66.4 x 88.6 cm)
Frame size: 28 x 37 inches (71.1 x 94 cm)
Edition of 35
Signed and dated lower right, numbered lower center and titled lower left
(Inventory #37468)
“The title of this three-color aquatint is “Ten to 10.” At that time most aquatints tried to emulate the Goya-look, granular and gradated. When I proposed making large flat aquatints the printers claimed it couldn’t be done. And anyway, they said, if you want a flat tone make a silkscreen. A silkscreen gives you a solid, flat, impenetrable surface, but an aquatint, because the tiny specks of resin let the paper show through, is subtly translucent. It feels aerated, and lets the light bounce back. To perfect the process required almost a year of experimentation, and the complete rebuilding of the studio to accommodate the size of the plates I wanted to use. But in the end, given the results, like the luminosity of the dark circle in this print, it was well worth it.”
—Mel Bochner
