Edition Announcement #359 - Craig Damrauer

The New Math of Relationships
Laughter, Compassion, Argument or Hindsight | 8"x10" | $20 | 100
The New Math of Relationships | 11"x14" | $50 | 200
The New Math of Relationships | 16"x20" | $200 | 20
by
Craig Damrauer

I'm so excited about today's new editions that I find myself at a loss for words. There's so much about them that I'm totally in love with that it's hard to figure out where to start. This is our second time working with the prodigiously talented Craig Damrauer, whose Modern Art edition neatly deflects the most common of art criticisms.

Today's editions—also from his New Math series—tackle the complexities of relationships. Many and varied as those complexities are, it seemed fitting to present a suite of prints. (And a sweet suite at that!) Since we're talking about feelings and all, why not something tactile? Which is to say: these editions are letterpress, their inky black type so deeply impressed upon a paper woven of Craig's signature blue hue that you can feel them on the print's surface. Minimal and elegant, The New Math of Relationships makes the world of relationships seem utterly manageable (*cough*).

In his statement, Craig writes, "The problem with relationships is that their complexity belies quantification. Or, at least the kind of quantification that I'm capable of... I think of this piece a little bit like Ray and Charles Eames' The Powers of Ten in that as we get further away—and more equations enter the piece—we see the complexities of relationships a little more. The truth is that this tapestry of equations could stretch forever, or at least as far as human interaction stretches. And that's, I suppose, what makes relationships so difficult, so rewarding, so brilliant and impossible."

As someone who has always found comfort in words and is fond of molding them into formulas, his description resonates deeply with me. Words and formulas are much more tidy and manageable than people and all their stuff and what happens when your stuff gets mixed up with theirs. It's hard enough to reconcile everything that makes me me, with myself. It often seems impossible to mix all that junk up with someone else and emerge from such a collision intact. As I write this now and look at Craig's equations, I can't help but notice that the equal sign falls just short of bridging the distance on either side of any equation. Perhaps what's required is a leap of faith (don't look down!) and a belief that it will all add up somehow. Simple, right?

Previous Newsletter : Edition Announcement #360 - Colin Blakely