E.064 Pillar 1992

• I. 1st state of 8

  

  Etching. View of a street corner where a massive pillar, with an irregularly shaped concrete base, supports an elevated roadway. Behind the pillar, in the lower half of the image, is a bridge, shown at an angle that decreases from the right to the left. A truck with its cylindrical container is depicted from behind as it moves around the corner, at left.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• II. 2nd state of 8

  The irregular vertical white area within the darkened area at the base of the pillar has been burnished to make it appear brighter, and more regular in shape.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• III. 3rd state of 8

  Etched hatching has been added to many areas of the plate, including the underside of the elevated roadway, the pillar, and the railing. Irregular lines of etching have been added to the base of the pillar in order to increase the appearance of volume.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘3 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• IV. 4th state of 8

  

  The roadway structure at the top of the plate has been burnished away and replaced with a sky created with a light mesh of etched strokes. Drypoint has been added to many areas of shadow, including on the tanker at left and on the right face of the pillar.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘4 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• V. 5th state of 8

  Oblique drypoint strokes have been added to the sky at both sides of the pillar. The drypoint burr on the right face of the pillar has been burnished.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘5 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• VI. 6th state of 8

  The oblique drypoint strokes in the sky near the top of the pillar, which were added in the previous state, have been burnished away. Drypoint has been added to areas of the dark face of the base of the pillar.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘6 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• VII. 7th state of 8

  The upper sky has again been darkened with parallel oblique strokes of drypoint. The pillar’s dark face has been strengthened with two vertical lines of drypoint at its right edge. The irregular protrusion at the base of the pillar has been burnished at the bottom.

  Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘7 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• VIII. 8th and final state

  Drypoint has been added to many areas of the plate, including the ground immediately below the truck, the fence around the pillar, and the left edge of the pillar’s base and around it. A strong broken vertical line has been added at the right edge of the pillar. There are three variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘8 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’. (Featured Image)
  2. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP I’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.
  3. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP II’; lower centre: ‘Pillar’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’92’.

• VIII.a. 8th and final state (Featured Image)

  

  Drypoint has been added to many areas of the plate, including the ground immediately below the truck, the fence around the pillar, and the left edge of the pillar’s base and around it. A strong broken vertical line has been added at the right edge of the pillar. There are three variant impressions of this state.

• No edition

• Comment

  The pillar depicted here is one of the supports of a railway bridge near the intersection of Flinders and Spencer Streets in Melbourne’s CBD; the image is based on a photograph taken by Amor. An earlier and larger etching, The pillar, 1991 (cat. no. E.044), shows the same pillar, but viewed from a different angle and placed in a different setting.

  The liberty with which, in the fourth state, Amor burnished away the underside of the elevated roadway at the top of the plate indicates how freely he is able to change the details of what he sees, to suit his purpose. In removing the raised roadway present in the first three states, he immediately added considerable emphasis to the scale of the pillar, as well as to the surrounding space.

  For discussion of Amor’s various depictions of the pillar seen in E.064, see Comment in entry for cat. no. E.044.