Persons of Note - Woodcut, Confession

I have to confess, rather regrettably in fact, that this woodcut is most probably (definitely..) my favourite piece of work that I have created so far on this course. Now, I don't know what that says about me as a practitioner of this discipline or of my knowledge of illustration, but aesthetically at least, I absolutely love it.

Firstly, analogue printmaking; you're already onto a winner in my books. I have kept meaning to exercise my interest in printmaking but just haven't really found a very suitable time or project in which to do it. And I have to admit, this piece does not fit with the work that I am making for this brief and I feel like I had already accepted that by the time I came to start it, but it was so lovely to do still! I really enjoyed investing in the lengthy and time consuming process, fulfilling my need and obsession for such methods which I have neglected mostly throughout this year so far, in favour of looser, quicker techniques. 

And then the print itself, theres just something there that really speaks to me and gets me so excited just looking at it. The portrayal of light using marks and textures, the tangibility of the wood grain and imperfections, the dark and evocative subject matter.

To bring it back to illustration and away from just the mere aesthetics of the thing, I do believe it is a portrait of Jarry of sorts. It portrays his obsessions and his, perhaps sinister, personality and interests. If we are arguing what made Alfred Jarry the man he was, then absinthe and guns unarguably played a very major role. Finish that off with the candle stick, referenced in the works of Jarry as one of Ubu's many absurd sayings and there is a portrait of Jarry in a simple still life.