Two trees - Rick Amor

I. 1st state of 2

II. 2nd and final state (Featured Image)

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E.082 Two trees 1993

I. 1st state of 2

Etching over sandpaper ground. A close-up view of densely grouped buildings, with a narrow passage between them; light strikes this area from an unseen source at right. On the left side of the walkway are rusticated nineteenth-century buildings, while those on the right and in the distance appear to be from the twentieth century. In the lower right foreground are two bare, spindly trees. The composition is substantially complete.
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: ‘Two Trees’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’.
II. 2nd and final state (Featured Image)

Drypoint has been added to many areas so as to heighten the contrasts between light and dark, and to clarify the architectural features of the buildings and the details of the two trees.
Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP’; lower centre: ‘Two Trees’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’.
No edition
Comment
This etching is one of a series of inner-city images depicting a lane near the corner of Collins and Russell Streets in Melbourne’s CBD. Each of these works takes a slightly different approach to its subject, with the variation lying in the angle of representation, or the architectural details included, or the placement of the two trees. E.082 is the only print in the group, and the only work whose title diverges from those of the others.
The drawing and paintings related to E.082 are all titled The secret city, thus reflecting a comment by Amor on those of his subjects that deal with life in the contemporary city: ‘I’ve always thought that behind the facade of a building all sorts of mysterious things go on. I suppose it’s from my childhood and reading Kafka. I like to suggest that behind prosaic reality something else is lurking’ (quoted in Catalano 2001, p. 149).
This observation applies equally to the present etching, which is in fact the most claustrophobic version of its subject, and the only version without figures.
The etching was substantially complete in the first state. However, Amor decided to add drypoint in the second and final state, not only to clarify compositional details, but also to emphasize the shadows in the image – thus rendering it more dramatic, and heightening its atmosphere of mystery and foreboding.

Etching over sandpaper ground. A close-up view of densely grouped buildings, with a narrow passage between them; light strikes this area from an unseen source at right. On the left side of the walkway are rusticated nineteenth-century buildings, while those on the right and in the distance appear to be from the twentieth century. In the lower right foreground are two bare, spindly trees. The composition is substantially complete.

Drypoint has been added to many areas so as to heighten the contrasts between light and dark, and to clarify the architectural features of the buildings and the details of the two trees.

Catalogue Number

E.082

Title and Date

Two trees 1993

Description of Featured Image

A close-up view of densely grouped buildings, with a narrow passage between them; light strikes this area from an unseen source at right. On the left side of the walkway are rusticated nineteenth-century buildings, while those on the right and in the distance appear to be from the twentieth century. In the lower right foreground are two bare, spindly trees.

Where Made

Dunmoochin, Cottles Bridge

Medium Category and Technique

Intaglio Print: Etching over sandpaper ground, drypoint and burnishing on copper

Support

Wove paper. Identified papers: No papers identified.

Dimensions

Image size: 129 x 143 mm
Matrix size: 130 x 146 mm

Artist’s Record Number

RAE.78

Printer(s) and Workshop(s)

Both impressions printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio, Cottles Bridge.

Summary Edition Information

Two states. No edition.

Literature

For a perceptive account of Amor’s views of the city of Melbourne, see Gary Catalano, The Solitary Watcher: Rick Amor and His Art, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Victoria, 2001, pp. 148–67. Amor’s comment on the city, quoted below, was made in an interview with Sonia Harford, published in the Age in 1994 and quoted by Catalano, p. 149.

For an illustration of one of the painted variants of this composition, The secret city, 1993–94, see Gavin Fry, Rick Amor, Beagle Press, Roseville, NSW, 2008, p. 53.

Collections

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: one state impression, numbered 1.

Comment

This etching is one of a series of inner-city images depicting a lane near the corner of Collins and Russell Streets in Melbourne’s CBD. Each of these works takes a slightly different approach to its subject, with the variation lying in the angle of representation, or the architectural details included, or the placement of the two trees. E.082 is the only print in the group, and the only work whose title diverges from those of the others.

The drawing and paintings related to E.082 are all titled The secret city, thus reflecting a comment by Amor on those of his subjects that deal with life in the contemporary city: ‘I’ve always thought that behind the facade of a building all sorts of mysterious things go on. I suppose it’s from my childhood and reading Kafka. I like to suggest that behind prosaic reality something else is lurking’ (quoted in Catalano 2001, p. 149).

This observation applies equally to the present etching, which is in fact the most claustrophobic version of its subject, and the only version without figures.

The etching was substantially complete in the first state. However, Amor decided to add drypoint in the second and final state, not only to clarify compositional details, but also to emphasize the shadows in the image – thus rendering it more dramatic, and heightening its atmosphere of mystery and foreboding.

Keywords

City, Cityscapes & streetscapes, Melbourne

URL: https://catalogue.rickamor.com.au/works/intaglio/two-trees/

Record last updated 15/02/2021