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Carol Wax

Singer II

Maker

Carol Wax (American, b. 1953), printmaker
Jennifer Melby (American, b. 1946), printer

Title

Singer II

Year

1985

Medium

  • Mezzotint on off-white wove German etching paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Mezzotint on off-white wove German etching paper

Materials

mezzotint

Supports

  • Medium weight off white wove German Etching paper

Dimensions

Plate: 38.1 x 21 cm (15 x 8 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in graphite, LL: "56/75"; LC: "Singer II"; and LR: "CWax"

Identification

Edition

56/75

Standard Reference Number

Wax 2006, pp. 54-56

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

1999.34.1

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions
Feb 15, 2019 – Aug 04, 2019

Label copy

This dramatically lit image of an old-fashioned sewing machine has the intensity of a portrait, a popular subject for mezzotints. The print’s lighting and attention to surface also reveal the influence of Dutch still-life and Baroque paintings. “To me, ordinary objects seem extraordinary,” writes Wax, whose evocative depictions of

discarded things fulfill her stated aim to “infuse the inanimate with anima.”

Through her choice of subject matter and her adoption of a traditional, time-consuming technique, the artist critiques the consumerist cycle of our wasteful society, where mass-produced machines are swiftly relegated to obsolescence.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Carol Wax (American, b. 1953), printmaker
Jennifer Melby (American, b. 1946), printer
Singer II, 1985
Mezzotint on off-white wove German etching paper
Plate: 38.1 x 21 cm (15 x 8 1/4 inches)
Jesse Metcalf Fund 1999.34.1

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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