Daina Higgins

Blackbook I

From the Artist

The Blackbook prints are made from trompe l’oeil paintings of my graffiti blackbooks from the 1990s. A blackbook is a black-covered sketchbook that graffiti artists use to sketch and practice their tags and pieces.”

Cont. below – 
Artist
Daina Higgins
Title
Blackbook I
Production Date
2014
Edition of
50
Medium
Archival pigment print on Sunset Cotton Etching Paper
Details
Signed, numbered, and dated by the artist
Price
$500
Dimensions
27" x 20"

About the Artwork

Cont. from above –

“I carried my blackbook and a set of pencils with me everywhere as a socially awkward teenager in Ohio. At parties I sat on the couch and buried my face in the sketchbook. The blackbook is used in landscape format (to mimic walls and other surfaces) and the black cover conceals what the artist is drawing.


Blackbook I shows two pages open faced, the top page is the bleed-through of a Pilot marker tag by legendary Columbus graffiti writer Orse (RIP). The bottom page is a sketch of a piece I did on the Ohio Furniture rooftop in downtown Columbus in 1998. I am told the piece is partially still there.”

Curatorial Opinion

Executed in the trompe l’oeil style (French for “deceives the eye”), Blackbook I and Blackbook II have the appearance of opened sketchbooks, with great care taken to depict the layers of marker therein. The artist flexes highly technical painting skills and mark making, with near-photographic depictions of pocket-sized graffiti, thoughts, and coded messages.   

Medium
Archival pigment print on Sunset Cotton Etching Paper
Edition of
50
Price
$500
Dimensions
27" x 20"

About the Artist

Daina Higgins (b.1979, Columbus, OH) is an urban landscape painter and graffiti artist working in oil and water-based media. Her subject is the vernacular American landscape; depicting the built environment illuminated by natural and artificial light.

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About the Process

Haystack collaborates with traditional printmakers and digital printers to ensure each artist’s print reflects the most important aspects of their studio practice. Blackbook I was printed in collaboration with the artist and Forth Estate at Axelle Editions (a renowned printmaking studio active from 2005 – 2015). Each Archival Pigment Print was digitally printed with a lab-calibrated inkjet printer using pigment-based inks (this process is also known as Giclée printing). The 100% cotton paper has a smooth texture and the purest natural white tone available, allowing for every visual subtlety and tonal transition in the artwork to be reproduced at the highest quality. 

Daina Higgins
Blackbook II
$500
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