4_KRASS_OCT.2011

A straight line, pen-drawn and executed on a pen plotter, is by default sharp. Likewise, drawings generated from such lines are, by definition, sharp. With his "Unsharp" plotter drawings, Hans Dehlinger explores ways of generating line drawings executed on pen plotters that appear to be wholly or in part unsharp, even though they are drawn with sharp lines. When viewing two converging lines, there is a point called the "minimum separabile" where the human eye stops distinguishing between two separate lines and starts seeing grayscale. It is different for each individual and is also dependent on the distance from which the two lines are viewed. This limitation of human eyesight can be artistically exploited to create "unsharp" impressions from sharp lines. Hans Dehlinger has approached this topic systematically in the article "Line Drawings that Appear Unsharp" (International Journal of Creative Interfaces and Computer Graphics, 2011) and has applied the results to his drawings, in which "unsharp" impressions of different kinds can often be observed.

ABOUT PLOTTER DRAWINGS

Plotter drawings are line drawings. A mechanical drawing machine, the plotter, is controlled and driven by a computer program. The drawing pen clamped into the machine moves across the paper and draws, almost like a mechanical hand. Simply put, this hand responds to three commands: lift the pen, place the pen on the paper, and move the pen. When the move pen command meets the pen is down situation, a stroke is created.

ABOUT THE FRAME

The plotter drawing comes in a white, customized frame made by the artist himself.