Friday, 21 June 2013

Modern Mosaic Designer And His Methods Reviewed

By Lila Barry


A modern mosaic designer work for both religious and secular institutions. One of the most famous modern mosaics is the one executed by Edward Burne-Jones for the St Paul within the walls Christian church in Rome. What has also happened is that mosaics have developed into a popular art and craft, not limited just to pros.

In our times, the designer has liberated himself from the shackles of tradition and is more inclined to experiment both with materials and forms. Thus tiles are of stone, glass, ceramic, bead, terracotta and even photographs. Also, it is significant to note that traditionally, mosaics have been elements of architecture. But the modern artist uses his art on a wide variety of day-to-day objects such as park benches, guitars and bicycles.

They now also feature prominently in street art. The best known exponent is the French designer Encroacher who uses small, traditional tiles to build eight bit video game characters. The other style he works in is called Rubikscubism and involves a kind of dual layering via grids of Rubik's cubes. There are many other street and urban artists who do similar work in cities across the world.

Another modern form is the Portuguese pavement, first invented in Portugal, but now popular across the Portuguese talking world. A two stone arrangement, it uses geometrical patterns with varying degrees of complexity. It also creates pictures in the modernist style.

Many of the cities in Portuguese-speaking countries do their pavements in this style. Portuguese pavement is related to older artistic forms such as Azulejo prevalent once upon a time across Spain and Portugal. It is a relatively recent development dating back only to the mid-1800s.

There are three basic methods in use, these days, for the execution of a mosaic. The first of them is called the direct procedure. In this, the tiles, or tesserae as they are called, are stuck directly on to the backing surface. The direct method is usually used in small-scale projects that can be carried around more easily. Also, the picture only becomes visible as the tiles are laid, so the artist has some time to adjust for tone and color.

The second method is called the indirect method. It is suitable for very large projects, or projects that contain repetitive components or where site-specific shapes are required to be executed. In this, the tiles are stuck on face down to a backing paper which are subsequently transferred onto floors, walls or other craft plans. This method gives the designer time to redo his work on an area basis, which is necessary when one is working on large projects. Benches, Murals and table tops are some of the objects made by the indirect method as it gives a smoother, more even finish.

The double collateral method is also keenly followed by artists as it gives them the opportunity to have the design in front of them while it is being laid. In this, the tiles are first glued on face up on a clinging surface as they would be once finished. As the mosaic gets done, another medium is laid on top of it. Then, the piece is turned topsy-turvy and finally set up as in the indirect method that we have already spoken about. The double indirect method requires skill and the mosaic designer would have to rely on an able and experienced craftsman to carry out his project.




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