“Where Have You Been?” by Dr. A. David Crown

A few days ago a friend and I went onto our old college campus and as we passed the gallery we noticed there was an exhibit going on.  With the both of us being art studio students, we couldn’t pass up a gallery viewing!  The college had asked Dr. A. David Crown, M.D. to display his art work.  I thought I would share one of the pieces that I found most familiar.

*I’ve tried to apply the picture to this post, but it doesn’t seem to be working consistently.  I have supplied the link here to view the artwork if you cannot view it on this post*

http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/crown_david_wheres_cat.htm

Where Have You Been? A mezzotint by Dr. A. David Crown, printed in 2005. A collection of his artwork can be found at the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida or at the Santa Fe College Gallery from September 10^th to November 4^th, 2010.  

 

Where Have You Been? shows the shadow of a person opening the door for a cat at the top of the steps.  The artwork instantly gives off the sense of curiosity because of the dark shadows and mysterious arch under the stairwell.  It looks as if it is a late night and the family cat has finally decided to return home.  This artwork reminds me of the many nights my mother stayed up yelling on the front porch for the cats to come home.  Always worried about where they’re at and what they’ve been up to.  As soon as they arrive, meowing on the front porch, she would open the door and say Where Have You Been? making this the perfect name for this piece.

Dr. Crown works mostly in the medium of original mezzotint with is artwork.  In 1997 he founded the International Mezzotint Society.  Mezzotint is a form of ink block printing.  The process involves pricking small holes into a metal plate to hold ink.  A cradle or rocker is used to help create the holes that creates the image on the plate. Once the ink is applied the print can be made.  Different plates are used to create the different layers of the artwork.   Dr. Crown has been practicing this technique since he retired as a physician in 1982.

Photo and Information gathered from www.artbydavidcrown.com, www.math.ufl.edu/~glover/mezzotint.html, and www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/crown_david_wheres_cat.htm