Permanently
Artistprints by
Alfred Leslie
(American, born 1927)
Date1960
Mediumbook with screenprints
Dimensions44 x 36 cm (17 5/16 x 14 3/16 in.)
ClassificationsBooks
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. James N. Heald II
Terms
Object number2005.267
DescriptionPoems by Koch, screenprints by Leslie including four illustrations and a title pageLabel TextAlfred Leslie (1927- ) Kenneth Koch (1925-2002) Master printer Florian Vecchio (1920-2005) and partner Richard Miller (1920-1971) founded Tiber Press in 1953. The press is best known for introducing the technique of silkscreen printing to second generation Abstract Expressionist artists and later to Andy Warhol, for whom the medium became a trademark. Created in collaboration with poet Kenneth Koch, Alfred Leslie’s limited edition book Permanently is one in a series of four books which paired Leslie, Michael Goldberg, Grace Hartigan, and Joan Mitchell with a leading poet in the New York School. Screenprinting is a sophisticated variation on stenciling. At the most elemental level, an artist creates a cut-out pattern which is inserted between a substrate (paper in this case) and a fine mesh screen. Ink is pressed through the screen using a squeegee and transfers onto the substrate in areas where the stencil is not blocking the ink. In the case of sophisticated silkscreens like Leslie’s, there are several layers of stenciling and color blocking. Each additional layer and color requires a separate run through the silkscreen press. While working toward the final arrangement of stencils used for the first plate of Permanently, Leslie chose to cover and redact elements in his earlier proofs. The adhered red and green pieces of torn paper accompanied by scribbled instructions, demonstrate Leslie’s additive process. However, notably missing from the finished work are the black semi-circular graphic marks near the bottom of two late proofs. ProvenanceWilliam Gormley; G.W. Einstein Co., New York, NY; James N. Heald, Worcester, MA
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