Sea-shells 1949

M.C. Escher made this print of sea shells in 1949. He used a mezzotint, a printmaking process that is all about careful labor. The entire plate would have been roughened with a tool called a rocker, creating a dense field of burrs that would hold ink. If printed at this stage, it would produce a solid black field. Escher would then have worked back into the plate with scrapers and burnishers, selectively smoothing areas to create lighter tones. Consider the sheer effort involved in the production of this image: the even, all-over ‘ground’ on the plate, before he even began to represent the shells themselves. Also, the three shells themselves, so exquisitely rendered, displaying an uncanny balance between mimesis and abstraction. With mezzotint, the image emerges subtractively, through the laborious removal of material. In this work, Escher elevates the craft of printmaking, inviting us to appreciate the artistry inherent in the process. He blurs the lines between art and craft, compelling us to value the labor and skill embedded in the medium.