Scribble Book: Self-Portrait

When confronted with the opportunity to make a children's book, the internationally renowned painter, photographer and printmaker Chuck Close quickly took to the idea of a publication without words. Scribble Book, presented in two accordion-folded volumes, is a self-portrait that emerges incrementally from the printing process—one plate and one color at a time. In the first volume, the viewer follows a series of nine individual plate proofs; in the second, we follow along with a corresponding series of nine progressive proofs, culminating in a nine-color self-portrait. By comparing the plate proofs against the progressive proofs, the viewer can ascertain not only the cumulative effect as each color is added to create the final nine-color etching, but also the compositional decisions and modulations made by Close at each stage of the project. The two accordion-folded volumes are accompanied by a separate text in which the artist gives a personal account of the drawing process.