FOUNTAINS OF FLORENCE

Issue 3 (January 10, 2022)

Union case, ca. 1854, front and back covers (modified; Bill Travis, Fountains of Florence, 2012).

Riffling through an antique shop several years ago, I found a handsome object which I later learned was a union case made about 1854. The identical front and back covers depict a young couple in antique garb holding jugs. Opening it revealed several compartments for small images. I was intrigued and thought the case would make an excellent vehicle for displaying my work. The question was, How?

I started thinking about the jug motif and decided to repurpose the case around the theme of water, beginning with a sheet of abalone I added around the couple to evoke life under water.

The interior was especially interesting with its ten compartments. The original photographs were long gone so I set out to fill them with my fountain images.

© Bill Travis, “Fountains of Florence,” photo transfer on mother of pearl and 23k gold in a 19th-century union case, 5 ½ x 8 in., 2012.

I was doing a lot of photography on historic parks and gardens at the time and had just returned from visiting a dozen exceptional examples in Florence. I selected the Boboli Garden and Villa Medicea at Castello for this project, concentrating on the fountain statues, the water, and the flowering plants surrounding them.

I opted for a mosaic pattern, alternating between images on 23k gold and mother-of-pearl. The photographic transfers are extremely thin, resulting in sensitive surfaces that pick up ambient light. When you hold the case in your hands and move it around in the sun, or when you shine a light on it at night, the gold and the mother-of-pearl appear to glow, as if the image were lit from behind. The shimmering quality picks up on the idea of water.

Other references to water include the mother-of-pearl which, like abalone, comes from the sea and the process I used which involves water-based transfers.

© Bill Travis, “Fountains of Florence,” detail, 2012.

When open, the union case measures 5 ½ x 8 in., so each image is quite small. The element of surprise enhances the effect. First you see a lid and then you open the piece and discover the small world contained inside. This is a different experience from most art, where pieces tend to hang on walls and the impact already registers from a distance. Here the viewer has to handle the piece to bring it to life.

© Bill Travis, “Fountains of Florence,” detail, 2012.

The work is currently on view at Plaxall Gallery in New York City, from January 8 to February 6, 2022.

It is available for purchase here, along with other pieces I’ve recently made.

Please encourage your friends to visit my website and sign up for my newsletter, which is free and comes out once a month.

Question, dear readers: I’m thinking of giving a 45-minute Zoom presentation on my union case series, including my sources of inspiration, choice of subject matter, and technique. Would you be interested in hearing it? If so, please send a note here and I’ll forward the link. It’s free. Projected date: Saturday, February 5 (at 2 p.m. New York time).