Xerox art
Encyclopedia
Xerox art is created by putting objects on the glass
, or image area, of a copying machine
and by pressing "start" to making an image. If the object is not flat, or the cover does not totally cover the object, the image is distorted in some way. The curvature of the object, the amount of light that reaches the image surface, the distance of the cover from the glass all affect the final image. Often, with proper manipulation, rather ghostly images can be made. Xerox art appeared shortly after the first Xerox
copying machines were made. There are exhibits now in Los Angeles
and New York City
museums of more controlled examples of the form. It is akin to photography
. Color copiers added to the form, as can be seen by surrealist
Jan Hathaway's combining color xerography
with other media, or Carol Heifetz Neiman
's layering prismacolor pencil through successive runs of a color photocopy process (1988-1990).
The San Francisco Bay Area had an active Color Xerox arts scene starting in 1978 many local artists worked in the medium. From post card stores to gallery exhibits, to Barbara Cushman's Color Xerox Calendar this was a busy time for copy art.
Xerox art is often used in mail art
.
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
, or image area, of a copying machine
Photocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...
and by pressing "start" to making an image. If the object is not flat, or the cover does not totally cover the object, the image is distorted in some way. The curvature of the object, the amount of light that reaches the image surface, the distance of the cover from the glass all affect the final image. Often, with proper manipulation, rather ghostly images can be made. Xerox art appeared shortly after the first Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
copying machines were made. There are exhibits now in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
museums of more controlled examples of the form. It is akin to photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. Color copiers added to the form, as can be seen by surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
Jan Hathaway's combining color xerography
Xerography
Xerography is a dry photocopying technique invented by Chester Carlson in 1938, for which he was awarded on October 6, 1942. Carlson originally called his invention electrophotography...
with other media, or Carol Heifetz Neiman
Carol Heifetz Neiman
Carol Heifetz Neiman was a woman artist who was a member of the feminist art movement of the 1970s. Ms Neiman was a surrealist and a xerox artist. She also created etchings, and worked in pencil, pastels, and mixed media, and was a painter....
's layering prismacolor pencil through successive runs of a color photocopy process (1988-1990).
The San Francisco Bay Area had an active Color Xerox arts scene starting in 1978 many local artists worked in the medium. From post card stores to gallery exhibits, to Barbara Cushman's Color Xerox Calendar this was a busy time for copy art.
Xerox art is often used in mail art
Mail art
Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and involves sending visual art through the international postal system. Mail Art is also known as Postal Art or Correspondence Art...
.
Further reading
- Creative Photocopying (1997), Walton, S. and Walton, S. Aurum PressAurum PressAurum Press is an independent English publishing house located in London. It was founded in 1976. Aurum concentrates on non-fiction titles and publishes approximately 75 new books every year. One of its titles in 2009 will be the biography of Neville Staple, vocalist in The Specials, Fun Boy...
. ISBN 1-85410-476-4. - Copy Art Bibliography compiled by Reed Altemus for Leonardo/ISAST