Archipelago II
Print
1998 (made)
1998 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Archipelago II is one of a series of images made by Sergei Tsvetkov using irregularly shaped geometric plates, reconfigured from image to image. The series was made using the technique of open-bite or deep-bite etching. Here the technique gives the appearance of an antique map, with eroded and rugged coastlines suggested rather than clearly defined.
Given that the artist is an émigré from the former Soviet Union, the title of this print calls to mind Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel The Gulag Archipelago (1973) about the vast system of penal labour camps scattered like invisible islands throughout Russia.
Anne Appelbaum, an American journalist who travelled to the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, was struck by the absence of memory about these camps. Tsvetkov’s work may both commemorate this reign of terror and acknowledge its loss from the collective memory. Like many artists from the former Soviet Union, Tsvetkov seems to have developed a way of making images that carry disturbing undertones but can also be read as something more innocent.
Given that the artist is an émigré from the former Soviet Union, the title of this print calls to mind Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel The Gulag Archipelago (1973) about the vast system of penal labour camps scattered like invisible islands throughout Russia.
Anne Appelbaum, an American journalist who travelled to the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, was struck by the absence of memory about these camps. Tsvetkov’s work may both commemorate this reign of terror and acknowledge its loss from the collective memory. Like many artists from the former Soviet Union, Tsvetkov seems to have developed a way of making images that carry disturbing undertones but can also be read as something more innocent.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Archipelago II (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Open-bite etching on paper |
Brief description | 'Archipelago II', open bite etching from two irregular shaped plates, by Sergei Tsvetkov; United States, 1998 |
Physical description | Image from two separate, irregular geometric plates which look as if they have 'tectonically shifted' away from each other down a central fault line. Near the centre of image a small red rectangular shape and on left margin, same shape inverted, printed in black. The overall image is abstract but resembles the patterns one might expect from rusty or unevently bitten or corroded sheets of metal but they also have something of the appearance of old maps. The ground of each plate is printed in a cream colour, shading to brown. with the lines of the etching black. |
Dimensions |
|
Production type | Limited edition |
Marks and inscriptions | 'Sergei Tsvetkov [not clearly legible]'98. / Archipelago II' (Signature; date; title. All in pencil) |
Gallery label |
|
Credit line | Purchased through the Julie and Robert Breckman Print Fund |
Subjects depicted | |
Place depicted | |
Summary | Archipelago II is one of a series of images made by Sergei Tsvetkov using irregularly shaped geometric plates, reconfigured from image to image. The series was made using the technique of open-bite or deep-bite etching. Here the technique gives the appearance of an antique map, with eroded and rugged coastlines suggested rather than clearly defined. Given that the artist is an émigré from the former Soviet Union, the title of this print calls to mind Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s novel The Gulag Archipelago (1973) about the vast system of penal labour camps scattered like invisible islands throughout Russia. Anne Appelbaum, an American journalist who travelled to the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s, was struck by the absence of memory about these camps. Tsvetkov’s work may both commemorate this reign of terror and acknowledge its loss from the collective memory. Like many artists from the former Soviet Union, Tsvetkov seems to have developed a way of making images that carry disturbing undertones but can also be read as something more innocent. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.3583-2004 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | December 26, 2005 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest