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.