Los Angeles Tabulæ ad Astra
L.A. Tabulæ ad Astra
February 16 - March 2, 2015
Cove r image s : De s i gn by Rebec ca McKinney fea tur ing Tab .10 and ephme r a , by Di rk Hagne r, cour t e s y o f the a r t i s t . Ar twork image s by Di rk Hagne r, cour t e s y o f the a r t i s t . Al l othe r document a t i on photog r aphs by J e f f Rau and Me l ani e Kim, f rom exhi b i t i on in the Ea r l & Vi r g ini a Green Ar t Ga l l e r y. L .A . Tabu l ae ad As t r a ( exhi b i t i on ca t a l og ) , by Di rk Hagne r Ed i tor : J e f f Rau Cont r i but ing author : Ka r in Lanzoni Copy r i ght © 2015 Ea r l & Vi r g ini a Green Ar t Ga l l e r y Al l r i ght s re s e r ved .
F i r s t Ed i t i on . Book de s i gn by Rebec ca McKinney. Pub l i shed through I s suu . com
Ea r l & Vi r g ini a Green Ar t Ga l l e r y Bi o l a Uni ve r s i t y Ar t Depa r tment
13800 Bi o l a Ave . , La Mi r ada , CA 90639 562 . 903 . 4807 • www.Bi o l a . edu/Ar tGa l l e r y
No pa r t o f thi s book may be reproduced in any form wi thout wr i t t en pe rmi s s i on f rom the pub l i she r.
Exhi b i t i on St a t ement
Ma sh - up Ma r g ina l i a b y Ka r i n Lanz on i
L .A . Tab l uae As t r a Ti t l e Sh e e t
Tabu l a 1 Tabu l a 2 Tabu l a 3 Tabu l a 4 Tabu l a 5 Tabu l a 6 Tabu l a 7 Tabu l a 8 Tabu l a 10 Tabu l a 11 Tabu l a 12 Tabu l a 13 Tabu l a 14
Pro j ec t Epheme r a
Exhi b i t i on Check l i s t
Ar t i s t Bi og r aphy
Acknowl edgment s
About the Ga l l e r y
L.A. Tabulæ ad Astra
L.A.: Tabulae ad Astra (Los Angeles: Maps to the Stars) is a series of prints integrating portions of street maps of Los Angeles with gestural lines, impromptu marks from testing pen nibs, and cutting lines on boards—all unwittingly produced in the artist’s studio while working on other projects. The combined layers of intersecting and overlapping marks take on a surprising cartographic character that is reinforced by additional ancient map-like elements such as measurement grids, Latin phrases, beastiary, and scale markers. The resultant prints are also physically connected to the Los Angeles landscape, being printed on paper that was first soaked and stained in the waters of the L.A. River. Together Tabulae ad Astra plays on the constant tensions of control vs. freedom, order vs. complexity, safety vs. adventure, and city vs. wilderness. 
The su i t e o f 14 l e t t e r pre s s pr int s ca l l ed L .A . : Tabu læ ad As t ra (L .A . : Map s t o t h e St a r s ) , by Di rk Hagne r, bea r s a re s emb l ance to an incunabu l um and ye t , i s pr int ed on 21th centur y, sp i r a l bound , ske t ch - book pape r bea r ing a ye l l ow - brown pa t ina f rom the wa t e r s o f the L .A . r i ve r. I t c l a ims to be a map to the “ s t a r s , ” whi ch usua l l y means whe re ce l ebr i t i e s l i ve , but not he re . The t i t l e page ha s a decor a t i ve f r ame , whi ch wa s impor t ed f rom Ex s u r g e Domi ne , a papa l bu l l , in whi ch Pope Leo X re sponded to Ma r t in Luthe r ’ s 95 Th e s i s . Each o f the fo l l owing p l a t e s a re s t amped wi th t iny La t in phr a s e s in a Gut enbe r g - l i ke font , ac compani ed by index i ca l ma rks , Ror s chach - l i ke s t a ins , ind i go sp l a t s , and s t r ange l i t t l e 15th centur y dep i c t i ons o f imag ina r y s ea c rea ture s . How doe s one make s ens e o f a l l o f the s e pr int ed ma r g ina l i a on the ub i qu i tous rec t ang l e s tha t appea r on each page ? Le t ’ s t ake the proce s s apa r t , in the way tha t the s e f r agment a r y image s we re pr int ed : f rom the cent e r outwa rd . Al l o f the p l a t e s in L .A . : Tabu læ ad As t ra s t a r t wi th a rec t angu l a r - shaped ob j ec t in the cent e r—the mode rni s t g r i d . The g r i d i s a b i rds - eye v i ew o f a l ands cape and emb l ema t i c o f the c i t y ’ s inf r a s t ruc ture ; i t i s s ymbo l i c mapp ing , but ye t , i t i s an abs t r ac t i on . Ros a l ind Kr aus s sugge s t s “ the g r i d func t i ons to dec l a re the mode rni t y o f mode rn a r t . ” He re , i t i s a ma sh - up quot e f rom the page s o f a r t hi s tor y. They appea r l i ke sma l l shee t s o f g r aph pape r in a wi de r ange o f f aded co l or s f rom s ep i a to ca rbon - copy b l ue . Ove r l ay ing the g r i d ( but p l aced a round the ma r g ins ) i s anothe r map : a co l l age cutout—in the form o f mount a in r ange s—f rom the f amous Thoma s Gu i d e o f Los Ange l e s and Or ange Count i e s . At once , we have a f l a t v i ew o f the “c i t y o f roads ” and then a s i l houe t t e o f the f amous mount a in r ange s tha t sur round the LA ba s in . The cent e r p i ece o f each Tabu l a anchor s the mode rni s t g r i d whi l e a l l ud ing to a v i sua l repre s ent a t i on o f Los Ange l e s .
1 Rosalind Krauss, ‘Grids’, in The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths , Cambridge, Mass. and London 1985, p.1
Pr int ed on the g r i ds a re a l l k inds o f index i ca l ma rks . Long l ine s in d i f fe rent co l or s c r i s s c ros s l i ke an Et ch - a - Ske t ch ac ros s the p l a t e s . A he f t y or ange sponge - l i ke ma rk ca reens ac ros s Tabu l a 14 . De l i ca t e navy b l ue and rus t co l or s swi r l l i ke the inked wind ma rks f rom the mouths o f Düre r ’ s put t i (who do appea r in the corne r s o f Tabu l a 10 a s the Sant a Ana winds ) . A wi de swa th o f a b l ack brush s t roke ha s s eve r a l de l i ca t e red inked l ine s pr int ed on i t—l i ke mus t ache s , ha i r, or eyebrows . Whi t e and b l ue sp l ot che s o f pa int b l oom wi th f a int ha l os a round them. Many o f the s e hand - induced remnant s l ook ac c i dent a l but then a re recouped in the s e Tabu læ . Co l l ec t i ve l y, they po int to the one who de s i gned , eng r aved and execut ed thi s ( f rom the t i t l e page : i uentor, cae l av i t e t excud i t ) but a re a l so pot ent s i gni f i e r s o f the handmade in our d i g i t a l age , and they f l oa t l i ke a co l l ec t i ve dream above the c i t y o f Los Ange l e s . Sur round ing the g r i ds and ge s tur a l ma rks in the s e Tabu læ , a re l e t t e r pre s s pr int s o f the “ r a t i ona l ” too l s o f the ca r tog r aphe r. Va r i ous image s o f compa s s e s , s l i de ru l e r s , and prot r ac tor s a re dep i c t ed in thin red and b l ue l ine s and a re p l aced on the g r i d and in the ma r g ins , in homage to the ex ac t i tude o f mea surement s . The s e hand - he l d ins t rument s f rom the Mi dd l e Age s and Rena i s s ance we re us ed to obs e s s i ve l y cha r t cour s e s ac ros s oceans us ing the onl y re fe rence po int ava i l ab l e : the s t a r s . I f mea surement i s a compu l s i ve ge s ture , anothe r i s nomina t i on . We have named s torms , s t a r s , and s i ckne s s e s in the va in a t t empt to somehow make them more conce i vab l e to our i dea s o f thing s . Li kewi s e , Hagne r—in the ma r g ins a round the g r i d—named wi thin the uncha r t ed t e r r i tor y inv i s i b l e but dange rous mi c robe s : H1N1 F l u v i rus and E. Co l i O157:H7 bac t e r i a . He named Los Ange l e s : Te r r a Vi a rum ( c i t y o f roads ) , and Forum Somni orum (ma rke t o f dreams ) . He de s c r i bed c i t y l i fe a s : Homo Homini Lupus (man i s wo l f to man) and Comi d i t e Omni a ( consume eve r y thing ) . Above the g r i ds , he pr int ed , Pos t Nub i l a Phoebus ( a f t e r c l ouds , the sun) . In the sur round ing ma r g ins , he pr int ed l i t t l e Da t a Ma t r i x code s tha t you can s can into your sma r t phone and a r r i ve a t the Eng l i sh phr a s e o f the La t in—a d i g i t a l t r ans l a tor. But i t i s a l so a t r anspor t to anothe r wor l d wi th ( da rk , f i lmi c ) cont empor a r y de s c r i pt i ons o f Los Ange l e s in a mode rn font ; they sound l i ke mov i e t i t l e s .
By now, we have a r r i ved a t the f a r ma r g ins o f the maps . We a re in the “ s ea o f mons t e r s . ” Stunning image s o f wa t e r dr agons and the l i ke—t aken f rom books o f the 15th centur y and on— appea r in ex t r avagant de t a i l . They a re l i t t l e economi e s o f pen and ink dep i c t ing c rea ture s f rom our imag ina t i ons : she - dev i l me rma i ds , wa l rus e s wi th wa t e r spout s , and Ne s s i e s o f the deep . Such t e r r i tor i e s a re onl y t amed through the s e inc red i b l e dep i c t i ons o f wonde r, but a re c i phe r s o f the unknown . He re , a t the out e r edge s , we a re Wh e r e t h e Wi l d Th i ng s Ar e . But whe re do the s e maps l ead us ? Whe re a re the s t a r s ? They a re the l uminous sphe re s o f books . Li ke the sp in o f the hand on v iny l , thi s i s the sp in o f the g r aphi c image on pape r. Hagne r s amp l ed f rom many k inds o f books : ske t chbooks , 15th and 16th centur y books , papa l bu l l s , and books on maps . He a l so s amp l ed f rom the pr int ing proce s s i t s e l f : s c r ap pape r, f i r s t pu l l s , a s we l l a s cut s and b l ot che s on and a round the pr int ing sur f ace s . The s e image s a re remi xed by hand into the cor porea l mani fe s t a t i ons o f the pr int ed and pre s s ed image f rom our cu l tur a l l ex i cons , re sona t ing wi th our co l l ec t i ve ( v i sua l ) uncons c i ous . As Ma s t e r Pr int e r Hagne r r i f f s on L .A .
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hese pages feature the byproduct of the printing process from the L.A.: Tabulae ad Astra series— test strips for color and overprints, run-off sheets from stripping ink off type, and blocks used to clean after a session of printing. They were not originally designed to be shown, but now they reveal the ephemeral beauty of the studio process. T
Dirk Hagner
L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Ti t l e Sheet l e t t e r p r e s s p r i n t e d r e c t o and v e r s o on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 1 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 2 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 3 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 4 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 5 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 6 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 7 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21”
L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 8 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 9 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 10 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 11 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 12 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 13 l e t t e r p r e s s , c o l l ag e , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21” L.A. : Tabul ae ad As t r a , Tabul a 14 l e t t e r p r e s s , ch i ne c o l l é , and d i g i t a l g r i d on L .A . Ri v e r s t a i ne d pap e r 25” x 21”
Al l ar twork copyr i ght 2012 , cour t e s y of the ar t i s t .
Dirk Hagner was born and educated in Germany and has been living in California since the 1980s. He is an artist and printmaker working primarily on paper using woodcut, intaglio and letterpress methods. Hagner’s artwork has previously been selected for juried exhibitions and collections by the directors and curators of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Armory Center for the Arts, The National Gallery of Art, the UCLA Hammer Museum, Attleboro Arts Museum, MA, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Yosemite National Park Museum, Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Springfield Art Museum, MO, Riverside Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Southern Graphics Council, and the Society of Etchers in NYC. He has been included in over 100 juried group exhibitions, 26 invitational showings and over 20 solo exhibitions in many galleries and institutions, including exhibitions at Loyola University New Orleans, Biola University, Riverside Art Museum, Bakersfield Museum of Art, the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Concordia University, Mt. SAC, CalState LA., the University of Wisconsin, and Azusa Pacific University. Hagner is a board member of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, member of The Boston Printmakers, Southern Graphics Council International, and of the Society of Graphic Artists in New York City.
Artist Dirk Hagner would like to thank the following people without whom this exhibit at Biola University would not have been possible. Barry Krammes (Director of Biola’s Center for Christianity Culture and the Arts) for the personal introduction to Professor Dan Callis, who first suggested a proposal to exhibit this project at Biola. Jeff Rau, Gallery Director, who planned the exhibition for the Earl & Virginia Green Art Gallery, and installed the work along with student gallery assistant Alex Sarina. He also, together with student Melanie Kim, photographed the exhibition for the catalog. Last, but not least, thank you to Karin Lanzoni, Gallery Director at CalState Los Angeles for writing the essay, and graphic designer Rebecca McKinney for helping to create this catalog.
The Earl & Virginia Green Art Gallery presents a program of rotating contemporary art exhibitions on the campus of Biola University. Located in the greater Los Angeles area, the Green Art Gallery is well positioned to represent a vital Christian worldview within the critical dialogue of contemporary visual art and to produce engaging exhibitions that grapple with issues concerning the intersection of faith with art and culture. The Green Art Gallery also provides professional development opportunities for Biola art students through gallery exhibitions and internships.
For more information please visit www.Biola.edu/ArtGallery
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