Carol Summers, La Terra Trema Woodcut (1963)
Description
Translated from the Italian, La Terra Trema means “the earth trembles.” If you google “La Terra Trema,” what pops up is Luchino Visconti's 1948 film about Sicilian fisherman. It has been called a masterpiece of Italian neo-realism. Carol Summers received a grant from the Italian government in 1954 to study in Siena, Italy. He wrote that “[f]or years after my return from Italy I made pictures with Italian names. They all have their stories.” Sometime during his stay he may have visited Sicily and been inspired (or maybe he just watched the movie). In any case, this woodcut sure inspires us. It is our earliest (1963) Carol Summers, but is in unbelievable condition. The colors are vibrant and gorgeous after all these years. Artist's proof from an edition of only 50.
Details
- Carol Summers (American, 1925-2016)
- La Terra Trema (1963)
- Woodcut on Japanese paper
- Signed and indicated "Proof of La Terra Trema"
- 38 3/4" x 39 3/4" (overall) 37" x 36" (paper)
- Newly framed and matted under UV plexiglass
About the Artist
Carol Summers, one of America's foremost printmakers, was born in Kingston, NY in 1925. After service in World War II in the Pacific, he attended Bard College where he studied painting under Stefan Hirsch and printmaking with Louis Schanker. Soon after his graduation in 1951 he was awarded several prestigious fellowships -- one from the Italian government to study in Italy in 1955, two from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation in 1955 and 1960, and another from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation in 1959. University posts and workshops took him all over the world, and his subject matter is mainly colorful, stylized landscapes of the places that were of special significance to him -- such as in Italy, India, and Nepal. In 1974 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bard College. His work is in numerous prestigious museums internationally including MOMA, the Met, the Art Institute of Chicago, LACMA, and the Accademia Degli Intronati in Siena, Italy.In his Catalog Raisoné, Carol Summers wrote beautifully about the art of printmaking and his approach to the craft:
Printmaking is rather a devious process - it attracts those who want the space between themselves and the final work, who enjoy the multistage process itself. But I found the reversal of image in printing disconcerting, and the staccato edges of traditional woodcut seldom fit my imagery. The rags I cleaned my blocks and inking plates with were often more interesting to me than my prints. So I took to using dull tools that tore the wood rather than cutting it cleanly, and if a sharp edge survived that treatment, I used a wood rasp. I found that printing by rolling the ink directly on the paper with the cut block underneath, like a rubbing, eliminated the reversal and allowed me to see the image as it appeared. I could vary the inked area in a way not possible in printing from the block. And then, by spraying the print with a solvent that dissolved the ink, I could enhance the brilliance of the color and soften the edges, while developing undulating color fields of considerable variation. Sometimes I print on the back of the paper and draw ink through to the front with solvent, muting the colors without opacifying them.
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