PRINT EDITION BY DEVORAH SPERBER, 2006
Title: After Goya: Self Portrait (1815) divided along the vertical axis with each side mirrored to create two symmetrical images
Dimensions: 22 x 30 inches (56 x 76cm)
Edition of 100 prints plus 10 A/Ps
Printed on an Epson styluspro 10600 plotter on Sommerset Velvet enhansed 265 gr paper

The following digital renderings show the step-by-step process through which the print imagery was created.

Digital rendering: divided along the vertical axis and separated

Artist Statement

Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels. -Francisco de Goya

The imagery was created by dividing Goya's Self Portrait (1815) along the vertical axis, and horizontally flipping/mirroring each side to create two new symmetrical images. The additional images seen above are digital renderings that show how the original portrait emerges when the two center (mirrored) portions of the images are masked.

This concept was inspired by a recent scientific survey of 3/4 view portraits over the past two millennia which revealed that one eye tended to be placed symmetrically at or near the vertical axis of the canvas throughout the history of Western portraiture.

The print edition, After Goya: Self Protrait (1815), is part of a series of works based on the centered-eye phenomenon. The series includes circular thread spool works (8' diameters), based on portraits by Vermeer, Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Van Eyck, and smaller works constructed from thousands of Swarovski crystals. Like After Goya, the smaller works consist of two symmetrical images, divided along the vertical axis, and mirrored to create two new images.

Overall, I am interested in the link between art and technology, how the eyes prioritize, and reality as a subjective experience vs. an absolute truth. As a visual artist, I cannot think of a topic more stimulating and yet so basic, than the act of seeing -how the human brain makes sense of the visual world. After Goya exemplifies my ongoing interest in visual perception, the link between art and science, and providing direct visual "experiences" that are compelling enough to stand on their own without any explanation. - Devorah Sperber, 2006