Paper

The several Southwest series express the recognition that the landscape of various regions embody infinite combinations of basic rock formations and colorations and, as such, share the nature of the printed multiple as individualized by printing and after-treatments. Subjecting the prints to the forces of nature and chemical and mechanical degradation mimics the forces of nature on the landscape.

During several camping trips to parts of the American Southwest, Bleifer observed that in a given locale there are pervasive similarities of colors, shapes, and textures due to common geological origins, such as the basic common soil type and the landscape being subjected to localized natural forces that affect its appearance (wind, water, chemicals, temperature, and the movement of the earth’s crust). The silkscreen medium lends itself to expressing the commonalities of a landscape by multiple printings through the same screen using the same colors. The artist expresses this common matrix by printing the horizontal strata of the landscape using the “split fountain” technique. 

But within a given region there is a range of coloration, surface textures, and shapes. The artist employed art processes to the basic printed image, comparable to those that act on the landscape, in order to produce variables within multiples: crushing and wrinkling the paper like mountain ranges are subjected to tectonic forces, soaking the paper and exposing it to the sun for several months mimicking the action of the elements on landscapes. By dripping chemicals, such as paint thinner and acetone, Bleifer simulates how lime leaches out to dissolve rock and discolor it. In scrubbing these chemicals into the ink, under layers are exposed. Scraping and gouging the surface and using a rotary sander replicated how wind drives sand across rock. Finally, marking the prints with charcoal and chalk uses the same natural materials that mark the landscape. 

Once the printed page had undergone the process of individualization, further variation is achieved by cutting, tearing, layering, and composing resulting in a range of unique works.