Kiki Smith revising the copper printing plate for “Two” (2002) at Harlan & Weaver, New York. Production still from the series Exclusive. © Art21, Inc. 2013. Cinematography by Mead Hunt.
“I really love printmaking. It’s like a mystery and you’re trying to figure out how to rein it in.” —Kiki Smith
Today’s Exclusive, filmed in 2002 at the printmaking workshop Harlan & Weaver, features artist Kiki Smith discussing the challenges and pleasures of printmaking. Shown working on a portrait titled Two (2002), Smith and the workshop’s master printers make numerous proofs and revisions until she is pleased with the image. Using ink on paper, Smith combines traditional and self-taught etching techniques in her attempts to represent the subtleties of human flesh.
Contributor
As a producer and director, Ian Forster creates documentary content for Art21’s various digital and broadcast programs. Since joining the organization in 2009, he has worked on four seasons of
Art in the Twenty-First Century and the Peabody Award-winning film
William Kentridge: Anything Is Possible. Additionally, he has overseen the digital series
Extended Play since 2012, producing over 100 short artist portraits. Forster created the online video series
Artist to Artist in 2013, which has since featured artists in conversation with their peers at international biennials in Italy, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.