Sierra

2024.02 – a print & digital collaboration with Avant Arte

Sierra is a single output of a generative algorithm, selected among countless potential candidates, and translated into a high quality physical screen print in collaboration with Avant Arte.

view on Avant Arte ↗

image courtesy of Avant Arte

Color Separation

As part of the silk screen process, a colour separation technique was applied to the artwork, deconstructing it into Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) colour plates. The printed edition is accompanied by a digital release in the form of ERC-1155 NFTs, where each token represents a single colour plate.

Plate C
C
Plate C
M
Plate C
Y
Plate C
K

The above plates are bitmap negatives of the CMYK ink layers, rendered with thousands of small dots. The black and white design is inspired by the way that a light-sensitive emulsion is applied to a physical mesh. These four digital CMYK Plates can be reconstructed to form a full colour composite, mirroring the final printed artwork. They can also be recombined in different combinations and with different inks to produce interesting results. Sierra is a project that spans across digital and analog media, acting as a study in the dynamics of colour science and the printmaking process.

Print Details

The silk screen print will be available starting Feb 7, 2024 (6pm GMT) and ending Feb 9, 2024 (6pm GMT). This is a timed 48h open edition, which means that no more purchases will be possible after the sale period closes. The artwork can be purchased framed or unframed. Visit the Avant Arte page for further details.

— 48.5cm width x 67.5cm height (unframed)
— 15 colour silkscreen print including 2 fluorescent colours
— 410gsm somerset radiant white paper
— individually signed and dated by the artist
photo courtesy of Avant Arte

Interview

In preparation for the release, Avant Arte recorded a conversation between the artist and master screenprinter Tom Murphy of Make-Ready. The full conversation is 37 minutes long, almost like a podcast format, and can be viewed below. The discussion dives into the generative art process, colour science, screen printing, and more.

long-form discussion on generative art and screen printing process, view here

Edition Details

The final edition size is determined by the number of purchases during the timed open edition. However, there are an additional 20 Artist Proof prints (which will also have NFTs accompanying them), and these have been evenly allocated between the artist and Avant Arte to use at their own discretion.

After the sale is complete, collectors of the print will receive an email from Avant Arte with a link to claim the digital editions. The claim will incur gas costs (Ethereum), and will perform a 4x ERC-1155 NFT mint operation within a single transaction.

At a future point, if there is demand, the black & white digital colour Plates may also be realized in a separate project and print series.

1x
2x
4x
8x
try adjusting the different scale factors to simulate a different dot mesh

Photos

Matt and the screenprinter Tom Murphy looking at CMYK inks, photo courtesy of Avant Arte
colour separations printed on acetate, used to expose the light-sensitive emulsion on the screen mesh, photo courtesy of Avant Arte
mockup with a custom black frame

view more photos on Avant Arte ↗

notes