When rising junior Sasha Faust ‘18 began her research on Prussian blue, she never expected it to connect to painful family 历史. Faust’s research, which was funded by the 梅隆倡议 并由 哈洛宁杰西卡, associate professor of art in the Department of 艺术与艺术史, began with an interest in the color blue and its many meanings but transformed into an impactful series that she titled “With Our Hands.”
Discovered by accident in 1706, Prussian blue had an instant impact on the world of painting, but its influence reaches far beyond the art world. This compound was instrumental in the beginnings of photography and though it can be used as an antidote to some heavy metal poisonings, it also led to the discovery and production of Zyklon B, the poison used in Nazis gas chambers. This perversion of the color blue served as Faust’s “interest, horror, and inspiration” for her art. The descendant of Jewish refugees, pushed from their homes during the Nazi’s occupation of Poland, Faust decided she needed to further explore the dark side of this influential compound.
While considering how her family 历史 might inform her artwork, Faust recalled a treasured family heirloom: “When my family escaped they were only allowed to take a few things with them,浮士德解释道, “My great-grandmother brought two large, 手工制作的, 花边枕套.” These pillowcases provided inspiration for Faust’s series of cyanotypes created with handcrafted lace and lace embellished textiles once owned by her family members.
In order to create her pieces, Faust lays lace and other objects on paper that has been coated in mixture of potassium ferricyanide, 柠檬酸铁铵, 和水. 这种涂料, after being exposed to UV light and rinsed in water, results in the piercing shade of Prussian blue, and an image of the object blocking the light remains. Using a UV lightbox in 赌博娱乐平台网址大全’s art studio, Faust experiments with double, 三倍, 四倍曝光. “我刚开始的时候, the process was exciting because I didn’t know what the pieces would look like until they were fully developed,浮士德解释道. “Just a few seconds of additional exposure time in the lightbox can drastically change the appearance of a piece.” After some trial and error, Faust discovered the ideal exposure times for the various textiles and paper used in her work.
Although Faust found it immensely rewarding to learn a new artistic technique she could use to produce a series of pieces to share with the 赌博娱乐平台网址大全 community at the end of the summer, she says the most meaningful part of her research process was its role in starting family conversations long overdue. Faust has always been interested in her family’s 历史 and experience during the Holocaust, but was never sure how to bring it up. “It’s painful for my family members to talk about,浮士德说, “but my research gave me the push I needed to talk with my family, 钻研我们的历史, and use it as inspiration for my art.” The rewards Faust gleaned from completing this research make her excited about the possibilities for intellectual and personal growth that research projects hold for other humanities students.
“The summer research program is a great opportunity for interdisciplinary studies,” Faust remarked. She noted that her project, although technically in the field of 工作室艺术他能赶上来 历史，文化，甚至 化学. Through the integration of these disciplines, Faust was able to demonstrate the ability of visual arts to translate information that is not accessible without them. She hopes to continue exploring her passion for art and its cultural importance after graduation by pursuing a career in the arts.
For more information on 赌博娱乐平台网址大全’s art and art 历史 program, please visit their 主页.
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