Let’s discover this practice through the prism of the Hot Sauce series, in which Hamie Robitaille offers us such a beautiful appropriation of the technique.
What are we talking about?
Printmaking is usually a form of printing preceded by meticulous engraving, but it is often forgotten that this practice is not limited to it. The monotype allows us to rediscover this creative process without having to chisel or notch anything. This is a unique print, obtained by pressing the paper against a smooth plate (metal, plastic, glass, etc.). Ink or paint can be used as the medium, and the creation of the work can follow two processes : manual or mechanical pressure on the paper containing the pattern (this is called addition), or the removal of the medium creating the pattern by subtraction, on a fully covered plate.
Monotype sur papier. Plaque : 8 7/16 × 6 5/16″ (21.5 ×16.1 cm); Feuille : 11 3/10 × 7 1/2″ (28.7 × 19.1 cm)
© 2022 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
À droite : Pauline et Virginie Cardinal bavardant avec des admirateurs – Edgar Degas (1876–1877)
Collection Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Imaging Department © President and Fellows of Harvard College
First invented by the Genoese engraver Giovanni Benetto Castiglione in the late 17th century, the monotype was widely popularized by the Impressionists of the 19th century, led by Edgar Degas. With more than 400 monotypes, the French painter used the technique to create richly colored backgrounds, filled with movement and texture, which he later sublimated in pastel.
Monotype at Livart: the Hot Sauce series, by Hamie Robitaille
If the works of the Impressionists present a traditional approach to the technique, the monotype has evolved into a contemporary practice. It is with the works of Hamie Robitaille, a multidisciplinary artist from Montreal, that we can discover recent interpretations of the practice.
Liberated motion
At first glance, it is a form of continuous and fluid movement that transpires in these works. Omnipresent in Hamie Robitaille’s artistic approach, the movement in the monotype seems direct and organic. It also provides a dynamic glimpse into the interactions the artist may have had with his paintings, a choreography transposed to paper. Finally, the possibility of conceiving the works in the series from different angles is another form of movement enabled by the monotype.
Opposite: Hot Sauce 17.2 – Hamie Robitaille
[Le monotype] fournit aussi un aperçu dynamique des interactions que l’artiste a pu avoir avec ses toiles, une chorégraphie transposée sur papier
Tangible presence
While using a smooth plate allows for the creation of a clean pattern, varying the materials of the plate allows for the appearance of specific textures. Copper was chosen for the Hot Sauce series, bringing that metallic look to the black paint. The use of a squeegee, to move the ink in the case of this series, accentuates the smooth and pristine appearance of the copper. The brown metal also gives the work some textured imperfections allowing a transformation of the medium: the ink is sublimated by the qualities of the copper.
Opposite: Hot Sauce 13.2 – Hamie Robitaille
Shades and variations
Beyond the plan, the monotype brings a multitude of tonal variations thanks to the material aspect of the practice. The light-dark relationships and textures found in the series are achieved by variations in pressure when applying the pattern, bringing richness and depth to the work. For an additive monotype, the visible pressure points correspond to the artist’s creative stages, making it possible to trace the creative process and better understand it.
Opposite: Hot Sauce 15 – Hamie Robitaille
A technique that challenges creativity
As Hamie Robitaille’s work shows, the monotype allows for creative flights of fancy on many levels: from the tool to the plate, from the type of ink to the extent of the movements, the complexity of creating a monotype is accentuated by its uniqueness. And since the work and its designs are only fixed during the printing stage, it is possible to express oneself right up to the last moments of the production process. Conceived several centuries ago, then perceived in the 19th century as an artistic response to photography, the monotype is still little known today despite its inexhaustible artistic potential.
DISCOVER THE HOT SAUCE SERIES, AND A SELECTION OF HAMIE ROBITAILLE’S WORKS AT THE LIVART ART SHOP.
