Photogravure is a hybrid art.  It blends the creative potential of the photographic arts with that of the intaglio printmaking process, offering a result unattainable by either alone.  While demanding proficiency in both disciplines, it rewards the dedicated gravure artist with unlimited possibilities for interpretation of the original image.  Some artist-photographers are content to print their black and white negatives in gravure, without alteration, to take advantage of the rich tonal quality and permanence it offers.  Others creatively alter the image to such a degree that it no longer looks “photographic.”

My personal approach is to use the total palette as the situation dictates.  Sometimes a simple monochromatic image has all the strength necessary to carry the message.  Conversely, it can be exciting to push an idea through multiple film transformations in the darkroom, then extensively rework the image on two or three color plates, culminating in a complex and challenging printing session.  When applying this process to a human subject a unique product can result which reinvents the traditional concept of portraiture.

As more and more digital imagery enters the world of fine art, it becomes even more satisfying to work in the classical tradition.  There is a growing public interest in these early technologies for a good reason.  As Susan Sontag wrote as early as 1977 in her book On Photography:   “The cult of the future (of faster and faster seeing) alternates with the wish to return to a more artisanal, purer past - when images still had a handmade quality, an aura.”