Tree Zoo 1957

Town developed a complex and novel process to make the monotypes that he called “single autographic prints,” such as this one. Here he takes a shadowy impression off a lithographic stone already inked for an earlier print. He then prints more shapes from inked paper cut-outs, using other cut-outs as stencils to mask off negative shapes. Having to wait for the ink to dry between pulls led him to work on several prints in parallel over a period of days. The process allowed accidental, suggestive shapes to emerge. Here the forms suggest a tangled forest with other lurking presences.