Poor Self Trait #3: Curls

Barbara Rossi is an accomplished printmaker with a highly personal and experimental approach. This diptych print is one of at least three in her punning “Poor Self Trait” series from 1970, each a double proof set that combines hand-drawn imagery (below) with photographically-based “self-portraits” culled from her private life (above). It is notable for the contrast between the extreme and idiosyncratic abstraction of the drawn figure, and the representational nature of the photographic image. But their juxtaposition begs the questions: What is the nature of their relationship? Is either one a more faithful portrayal of the sitter(s) than the other?

In the four trial proofs, Rossi printed the lower intaglio plate à la poupée (a process in which different colors are applied directly to the plate at one time resulting in a unique print) and then overprinted the resulting impression (applying another layer of color) with transparent inks, producing a delicate wash effect. Rossi also printed a negative photo image in which the figures are cut out of the background, and overprinted it in transparent ink. In the edition of ten impressions, she printed the upper plate as a positive photographic image in color.