Joseph Lappie
There Is Always More Than One When There Is Always Only One, ¾ in birch plywood, ink, faux suede, transfer pen, MDF board, 20 x 12ft overall, 2007 – 2008.
“I become wary of trying to cram too much information (color included) in too small of space and tend to treat that aspect conservatively.”
Joseph Lappie is an artist, professor, and chair of the Art + Design department at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa (USA). His approach to color is malleable and his approach to printmaking is evolving as well as experimental failure. His installation-based and artist’s book work is created with predominantly relief and letterpress printmaking techniques and peppered with handmade paper, bookbinding, and shadow.
Myth and religion, gender and power and the grey space between dichotomies inform his work. Joseph recently completed working on character designs for a shadow puppet interpretation of Romeo & Juliet as well as a the text for a new “significant” artist’s book.
Are there specific associations towards color in your work?
Historically I add color if an area/character needs to pop out. I’m Influenced by the way early 20th century young adult books (think Tom Swift) and golden age comics use spot color, two color, or four-color offset technology. The more uneven, the better.
Emotional/mythological symbology regarding color is important too. During the development of “The Procession” (2012-2016), I became more informed of the cultural/regional interpretations of color: black isn’t always about death; purple isn’t always considered royalty. As an artist who tries to translate comparative religion/mythology, personal narrative, and familial history to create new, empathic stories, I continue to research the multifaceted meaning of the fairly limited colors I use.
detail from: There Is Always More Than One When There Is Always Only One, ¾ in birch plywood, ink, faux suede, transfer pen, MDF board, 20 x 12ft overall, 2007 – 2008.
detail from: The Procession, ½ birch plywood, ink, gouache, 65 x 15ft overall, 2012 – 2016.
detail from: The Procession, ½ birch plywood, ink, gouache, 65 x 15ft overall, 2012 – 2016.
How does color represent or support the mind space of your work?
Largely my work consists of installation pieces and artist’s books. The beginning process of both are almost always the same: pencil, text, and eraser. This is followed by black or brown ink - focusing on shading, composition, and movement. Only after these marks are made come the colors, tones, shades, and tints.
They are rarely the impetus of a project, but when developing something on a wall it becomes imperative to think about how colored matrices might sit on a bright white drywall vs. a grey pin board or the intensity of a wood stain in regards to a lighting situation.
It’s usually easier with artist’s books, but I become wary of trying to cram too much information (color included) in too small of space and tend to treat that aspect conservatively. Ultimately, I’m not a complex color theorist.
A Grand Delusion, ½ & ¼ inch birch plywood, ink, gouache, 50 x 18ft overall, 2017 – 2018.
What color do you wish you could buy?
I would set them free.
detail from : A Grand Delusion, ½ & ¼ inch birch plywood, ink, gouache, 50 x 18ft overall, 2017 – 2018.