Updated for 2012, a miniature, pocket-sized version of the Signwriters pricing guides. The same information as in the regular Sign Contractors Pricing Guide, the mini guide includes pricing for artwork, ...
Digital technology enables the mass production of Rosemary Feit Covey
By Steve Aust
A Great Big “0”
Digital technology enables the mass production of Rosemary Feit Covey’s Project 0.
By Steve Aust
Rosemary Feit Covey, a South African-born artist, has earned space at such prestigious institutions as the National Museum of American History, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Cairo’s Papyrus Institute. Simon & Schuster and Morrow Publishing Co. have also published her book illustrations. For years, the crux of her art entailed laboriously handcrafting prints on handmade Japanese papers using wood letterforms and a hand-run, Vandercock press. However, one day, a child’s earnest question triggered a revelation.
“He was watching me work through this meticulous process, and he said, ‘Why don’t you just Xerox® it?” Covey said. “I’d spent 30 years as a professional artist perfecting ancient wood-engraving techniques. But, upon reflection, I realized that mass-produced or computer-generated art was equally relevant.”
Thus, the 0 (as in “zero”, not the letter “o”) Project was born. She christened it because 0 contains no inherent value, and it signifies that artistic interpretation and merit reside in the viewer’s opinion, not the artist’s. Covey developed the tableau of slightly sketchy, black-clad, scowling figures against a grayish-black backdrop. It began as a wall-mounted piece in her studio, but it provoked such strong reactions from visitors that she decided to produce it on a grander scale as an outdoor building wrap.
After being selected from hundreds of applicants from through the mid-Atlantic region, she discussed the concept with Claire Huschle, executive director of the Arlington (VA) Arts Center, and they agreed to encircle the building with a 15-ft.-tall, 300-ft.-long depiction of Project 0. Jeffrey Cudlin, the Center’s director of exhibitions, viewed it as an apt representation of the Center’s mission.
“It’s our goal to present the most diverse and challenging works of contemporary art,” he said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to present such an unusual, innovative piece that invites visitor reaction and interpretation.”
As with any highly public piece of artwork, hurdles loomed. The Center needed a special permit to install the piece, and it had to pass muster with the local Historical Society (often a paramount concern in the centuries-old cities that surround Washington D.C.) Even the local PTA expressed concern that a grand-format rendering of spectral, menacing figures would frighten passing schoolchildren. Finally, the Center assuaged all concerns, and the project proceeded.
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