tactile

Ed Grazda’s card, 2022

I received Ed’s card today, a decorated print posted with a stamp on the back. Just holding it is a pleasure. The smooth emulsion front and the soft fiber back of black & white photo paper. A stiffness from heavier weight so the emulsion doesn’t crack and a slight curl at the corners.

We tend to think of photographs as something experienced through the eyes. Prints feel different depending on process and paper. It’s something for the artist, so immediately familiar from years of making, holding, crafting. It’s also for the viewer, flipping a print between fingers or turning pages of a book. There is heft, feel and intimacy in being hand held.