A Memorial of Photography and Light: Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm

Light Pillars by Karen GiustiStephen Schwarz was a New York City firefighter and a first responder on 9-11. He was injured early that morning, but would return to Ground Zero to help in the rescue effort.

Artist Karen Giusti, who was his fiancé, says the cumulative effect of breathing in the airborne debris at Ground Zero led to his death in June 2010.

“Many 9-11 first responders have chronic health problems or are passing away very young. Stephen was not even 50 years old,” says Giusti.

Giusti channeled her grief into a series of art pieces called Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm, which will be displayed at the Katzen Arts Center at the American University Museum College of Arts and Sciences in Washington, D.C., and will also travel to sites in New York City.

Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm is essentially a series of light pillars using photographs Giusti captured at Schwarz’s farm in upstate New York composed together to communicate the essence of her memorial art. So far, Giusti has built five pillars, but is contemplating up to 20 more as the exhibit begins to travel.

Light Sculptures Printed on LexJet Absolute Backlit
Models that Karen Giusti built as guides for potential future configurations of her exhibit, Three Seasons at Black Forest Farm.

“It’s about keeping time and the concept of time standing still; things you think of when someone passes away and how you respond, grow and what occurs to you during that time,” explains Giusti. “It’s also an artistic interpretation of scientific concepts of time where the photos are strings of time.”

The pillars are composed of hundreds of photos from Black Forest Farm stitched together, printed on LexJet 8 Mil Absolute Backlit in 40″ wide by 175″ long panels with her Epson Stylus Pro 9890, connected to each other with Velcro, suspended from the ceiling, and supported underneath by a slow-turning motor.

“At Stephen’s farm I stood in one place and shot at the ground and up, and then turned very carefully and came back down and around. I had a chart I stood on to make sure I would get the entire farm photographed in the round, almost like a holograph,” says Giusti. “It’s very fitting that it’s esoteric and ephemeral with the beautiful photographs stitched together, and I thought that using a hanging light pillar would be a beautiful effect to work with the imagery.”

Instead of building a tubular framework to hold the prints in place, Giusti found that the Absolute Backlit material was both flexible and rigid enough to be used as the structure itself.

“I was considering what kind of framework to use, but it turns out that the Absolute Backlit works fine because it is so durable and user-friendly – it doesn’t scratch and you can handle it pretty roughly – and you can get a beautiful shape out of it,” says Giusti. “Only an artist would get so excited about a print material.”

Video: HP Designjet Graphics Printers Overview

HP Graphics Printers at LexJetThe HP Designjet Z3200, Z5200 and Z5400 have a solid track record in the large format inkjet printer market.

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Check back tomorrow for an overview of HP’s Designjet Production Printers: the HP Designjet Z6200Z6600 and Z6800.

A Closer Look at the HP Designjet Z5400

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To find out more about the HP Designjet Z5400, and to find the best HP printer for your needs – whether it’s the HP Latex Printer, other Z-series or T-series printers – call a LexJet expert at 800-453-9538.

More Application Opportunities for Latex Inkjet Printing

Printing Backlits with HP Latex Printers

Give your customers the benefits of backlits, posters, maps, photo prints and more with HP Latex Printers. With HP Latex Printers from LexJet you can cut down on print time since latex inks are dry right out of the printer and ready for laminating and finishing.

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