Trama XIII
Tramas
Artist name
Artist year born
1950
Artwork make date
1983
Artwork title translation
Pattern XIII
Patterns
Patterns
Artwork material
wood engraving
paper
Japanese paper
paper
Japanese paper
Artwork dimensions
height: 41.4cm
width: 42cm
width: 42cm
Artwork type (categories)
Print
Accession method
Donated by Alex Gama 1999
Accession number
7:2-1999
Label text
In this example from Gama's Trama series the grain of the hardwood block is particularly evident. The prominence of the rippling lines, each marking a year of growth, suggests a huge tree whose own long history cannot be effaced by the geometric pattern which overlays it. On the contrary, in comparison to the faint lines incised into its surface the wood beneath bulges with life. Ernst Gombrich, in his book Art and Illusion, notes the universal human tendency to identify marks on a surface as representational - a figure, a face. In this print the black squares work in this way, tempting the viewer to read meaning into the patterned surface, and so adding a further dimension to the image.
Valerie Fraser
Valerie Fraser
Last updated date
2008