Goodwill Hunting: Interview, $25

 

My most recent Thrift Art find is making me feel sort of grown-up and professional. This piece is a real print (5th in an edition of 5, with a gorgeous deep plate impression all along the edges); signed by the artist in pencil (a woman named Elisabeth Phelps); with a mysterious, interesting title--Interview--to match the ominous vibe I'm feeling when I look at it. Twenty-five dollars is the most I've ever paid for ANYTHING at Goodwill, and I've noticed that prices are going up in general at secondhand stores. For example, there are now "boutique" sections of clothing separated from the general riff-raff. I think management is finally catching onto the fact that people dump valuable stuff at their doorstep, and they have better self-esteem than the Dollar Store, but... $30 for a pair of previously-sashayed-in pants from Talbots?? They may have lost their damn minds.

But I digress. This print was certainly worth each one of the 2500 pennies I paid for it! The subject matter is a room with an armchair and standing ashtray in the foreground. Three (or possibly four) sources of light are visible behind the chair: a tall window with open venetian blinds to the right; a hanging, horizontal light fixture above; and four circular glass lights to the left. In my opinion there is also a blazing fireplace below the circular lights, but that is debatable. It's interesting that such a dark, monotone print represents an almost blinding assortment of light. It would be very uncomfortable to sit in that chair; the ashtray suggests that the person sitting for this interview is going to be chain-smoking like crazy.

So far I've turned up no information about the artist or the outfit responsible for framing this print, identified by a sticker on the back as the Ferdinand Roten Galleries (formerly of 123 W. Mulberry Street, Baltimore). I'm also embarrassed to admit that I'm not sure exactly what kind of process was used to create this print. I *think* it's either an engraving or an etching (art historians, help me out here!). The hatching technique, which is visible near the circular lights on the left side, is often used in both of those printmaking processes.

Any questions? ;)