Chatter in the Campo

The word chatter in printmaking terminology defines the noise or texture present in the background of a relief print caused by shallow carving. Piazza del Campo in Siena is the stunning public square and heart of the medieval city where day and night people gather to spend time together. The title of this exhibition is a play on the words, chatter and campo, which interprets the students’ experience of living and working among Tuscany’s greatest landscapes, art, and architecture.

The daily practice of recording numerous observations and subsequent reactions in the moment using en plein air drawings and frottage (rubbings) inside of lived-in artist journals became the content of a contemporary story set in the Middle Ages. Students translated their narrative by employing the ancient technique of carving a relief, and added a combination of historical icons with personal anecdotes that are presented refreshingly stylized and dramatic in the traditional block print. The work was printed by hand using a wood spoon, and this group of prints were previously hanging on a city advertising wall in Siena for a one-day pop up show before making their way to Austin.