Print No. 63 1971

Curator: Bogdan Borcic’s "Print No. 63" from 1971 is a mixed-media print, combining etching and engraving techniques, representative of his explorations in geometric abstraction. Editor: Right away, I see a fragmented map with a bold, red geometric structure cutting through it. It feels almost violent, yet also…precise? Like something ancient colliding with modern intrusion. Curator: It's intriguing how Borcic uses the traditionally technical skills of etching and engraving, media often used for reproduction and dissemination of information, to create such a personal and abstracted image. We should think about how that intersects with historical connotations. The labor required to create each layer, the choice to bring these older techniques into a contemporary context... Editor: Absolutely, that's part of what speaks to me. All those intricate, handwritten notes layered beneath, like echoes of voyages and explorations of old. The red lines impose this rigid framework on top, forcing us to reconsider the entire narrative of place and journey, even history itself! It makes me wonder, did the artist perceive something to control or change from old experiences? Curator: Consider that the materiality here—the inks, the paper, the very plates used for printing—they are all part of a specific history of production. He's repurposing tools typically used for disseminating objective geographical data, like the maps alluded to, into something deeply subjective. Editor: Yes, it's like taking control of cartography itself. But beyond its intellectual provocation, there’s something else there too. Those precise geometric figures – their starkness hints at rigidity but are also strangely anchoring as a compass, right? Curator: The contrast invites us to consider how objective structures and subjective experiences can overlap and compete within the same space. Borcic highlights this tension, this struggle between control and the unpredictable currents of history and memory. It's that interplay between form and content, technique and expression. Editor: What a striking juxtaposition of rigid geometry and fragmented, layered memory. It reminds us that maps are never neutral, they always carry the weight of perspective. Curator: Precisely, and by calling attention to the very means of production, the printing processes themselves, Borcic makes the viewer aware of the inherent artifice in all representations.