Polly Fossey

I am an artist based in Brooklyn, New York. I make art books and objects that investigate color theory through the medium of risograph printing. My book 7 Color Contrasts with Risography is collected at the Harvard Houghton Library and the Cooper Hewitt Museum. I volunteer at my local print studio and I draw weekly with the Urban Sketchers.

I am particularly excited to debut an expanded second edition of 7 Color Contrasts with Risography in Asia. This book was produced in an edition of 250 copies, measures 9" by 11", and is spiral bound with a wrap around spine and 34 French folded interior pages. It includes a fold-out chart that maps the hue and saturation of 26 unique riso colors and a color bias wheel that translates the logic of a painter's palette to risography. It was made using 192 masters. Of the second edition of 250, 50 copies have been hand-selected for institutional and archival distribution based on registration quality. Additionally, I will offer open editions of a 3D riso color wheel and a photo book called Color Layover (5" x 6") that reveals the print layers in a companion mini book (1.5" x 5").

I chose to undertake the immense labour involved in making a second edition of 7 Color Contrasts with Risography because I saw it as an opportunity to learn new skills. For example, in order to prepare the complex files for a riso book that involves 192 masters, I first need to learn new software skills. Writing with simplicity and clarity about the complex topic of color theory also helped solidify the theoretical concepts for my own artistic work. After writing, designing and preparing files, I physically transported around 200 lbs of paper to the riso lab, printing in two hour increments over the course of four months. Only being able to access the lab at certain times forced me to slow down even more and think about the details. Even so, there are imperfections in the work that naturally occur when an object is handmade and it makes each copy in the edition precious. When the printing was finished, I carried the pages home by subway in manageable batches. Then my task was to crease, fold, punch, and bind 4,500 individual sheets of paper. Doing this kind of repetitive work gave me a feeling of purpose but can also bring up feelings of doubt. I am constantly recommitting to the enormity of the task. I feel connected to the work because of the mental and physical labor that I put into it. It felt important for the message of the book that it be made in this way because I didn't want a book about riso color to be printed with cmyk inks. Making this book has been worthwhile because it has opened up opportunities for me to meet with other artists and to travel to new places for book fairs.

I have been studying Japanese for the last four years. There is no practical or economical reason for me to study Japanese, just as there is no practical or economical reason for me to have made such a labor intensive book. I undertake these kinds of pursuits for the joy of learning something new and with the hope that having done the work will open unexpected opportunities to connect with new people and new places.