Project: Kunsthaus (Art house), Rogner Bad Blumau, Austria

In 2018 I holidayed in Japan and, whilst there, visited a wonderful structure remodeled by the architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I believe it was originally a sewage works, but it has been transformed into something entirely different altogether. Here are a few images.

Since then I’ve looked (online only, unfortunately) at many other creations of his. Their quirky nature appeal to me and the Kunsthaus (Art House) provided great material as a start point for my latest zinc plate etching.

The design was traced onto the zinc plate which was pre-coated with a resist. Using an etching needle the outlines were drawn, ensuring the tool penetrated the resist but didn’t scratch the exposed zinc. The plate was then submerged into a nitric acid/water solution. To create a variety of line strength this was done 3 times, with resist being repainted over the lighter lines each time. The longer in the acid the darker the lines. The plate was rinsed, dried, resist removed and a proof taken.

In the normal course of creating a ‘realistic’ interpretation of an object, place, person or other, the lighter line tones would be strategically placed to create a sense of depth, distance, character or similar but in this case, even though there is perspective in the positioning of the building, I preferred a more random scattered approach. It’s just my way: I like flatter, impractical and unrealistic imagery in my work.

The linework was exactly as I wanted, so I photocopied the print and shaded sections by hand, indicating where I hoped to achieve a variety of tones as the plate developed.

Liquid hard ground was painted onto the areas I wished to remain the lightest tone, those that would only hold plate tone depending on how much I wiped the surface, and the plate went into the nitric acid solution once again. This step was repeated several times whilst blocking out more and more of the plate until only the areas where I wanted the darkest tones remained.

The hard ground was removed and the plate fully cleaned before pulling the print.

As I didn’t want the sky to be a totally blank area I randomly scratched a few marks into the ground during the etching process and I also left more plate tone around the upper edges. I’m told this effect is called ‘scum’ which I find a quite distasteful term, but the result is terrific.

While I work on other projects I’ll consider whether I want to either colour this in some way or perhaps apply some chine collé. Currently I’m simply enjoying the printerly appearance of it as is.

Materials:
Photosensitive zinc plate, Graphic Chemical Liquid Hard Ground, Fine Art Inks oil-based Stormy Grey ink, 300gsm Hahnemuhle paper.

Resources:
Source image (which I have adapted to create the print) by Petr Svarc https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/409123947407103501/
Image of the Kunsthaus shown www.moonhoneytravel.com/rogner-bad-blumau-hotel-austria/