Jack Beal, Labor Studio
Medium: Intaglio print: Soft ground, line etching and aquatint
Initial processing and proofing: ca.1980-1981, by Jennifer Melby
Edition pulled: 2004, by Roger Bailey
Ink and paper type: Renaissance black ink on Hahnemuhle bright white
Edition size: 39
Signed: in pencil, lower right
Image Size: 11.875" x 11.875"
Paper Size: 15" x 18"
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The Labor Studio was built to accommodate construction of the four 12' x 12' mural paintings Jack created for the U.S. Department of Labor in 1974-1977. The studio housed the four canvases, the five people who worked on them, the many people who posed for the paintings, and the equipment and materials needed for the work. This is a deeply bitten plate with some delicate aquatint areas as well.
A Closer Look ... Labor Studio
This partially completed ink drawing may be the first drawing Jack did for his print of the Labor Studio and the near-by creek and bridge.
The ink drawing was used to develop the print as a soft ground etching, quite different in character from lines drawn with a needle into a hard ground.
The deep etch of the soft ground is evident and the copper plate is beginning to show through the steel facing after it was proofed and editioned many times.
A close-up view shows the depth of the soft ground etching.
Roger Bailey inspects a print to be sure it has not been over or under wiped. This was one of the more difficult prints in Jack's "Experimental Suite" to ink and wipe with consistency.
This detail from a finished print shows the complex intaglio processes as it depicts the wooden bridge leading from the house and studio across the creek to the rock formations and hills beyond.
Jack signs the edition, April 28, 2005.
Jack's signature, lower left, and details of soft ground and aquatint.