On & Off Inking [a5]

On & Off Inking [a5]

1990
Designer
Jack Stauffacher, American, 1920-2017
Born: San Francisco, CA
Work Locations: San Francisco, CA
Country
United States
Object
print
Medium
Letterpress on Mowhawk Superfine paper
Accession Number
2013.58.1
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Charles E. Stanton, by exchange.

© Jack Stauffacher

Dimensions
height: 13 1/4 in, 33.655 cm; width: 10 1/2 in, 26.6700 cm
Inscription
Signed in pencil BRC Verso pencil BRC: "CB12 (10 crossed out)"
Department
Architecture and Design
Collection
Architecture and Design

Jack Stauffacher
American, 1920-2017
On & Off Inking [a5]
1990
Letterpress on Mowhawk Superfine paper
Gift of the Estate of Charles E. Stanton, by exchange, 2013.58.1

For over seventy years, San Francisco printer Jack Stauffacher produced books and prints that challenged typographic conventions. Stauffacher’s work explored the aesthetic potential of his everyday tools - letterforms, printing inks, and the press - to create dynamic compositions that activate the entire space of the page. This is a one-of-a-kind work from Stauffacher’s small series of experiments called On & Off Inking done in 1990, one of six in the Museum's collection. In these six examples, Stauffacher uses only a large "5" and slightly smaller, upside-down lowercase "a" while varying the intensity of the inks and mixing them with solvent, causing the pigment to drip down the page. The series is a revealing examination of the potential of letterpress inking techniques for communication and expression.

Known Provenance
Purchased March 2013 from the artist by the Denver Art Museum.