Mr. Man

Suzanne McClelland

2001 · Aquatint with spit bite and sugar lift on custom-made Torinoko paper · Drawings and Prints

McClelland engages the appearance, sounds, structures, and regulations of language in its various forms by examining found passages, both written and spoken, from which she “lifts” fragments. In Mr. Man she distorts letters, turning them into near abstractions; while some hint at words, most represent only themselves, with the two towering mounds recalling piles of discarded sounds, texts, or thoughts. McClelland defies the dictates for reading (which in English involve moving from left to right and from top to bottom, a structure Johns applied in Gray Alphabets), instead making visible stutters, repetitions, ellipses, and other irregularities of oral rhythms. The title, Mr. Man, refers to an insult hurled against a celebrated writer in the Stephen King book Misery by a character memorable for her refusal to use crude language.

Artist

Suzanne McClelland

Date

2001

Medium

Aquatint with spit bite and sugar lift on custom-made Torinoko paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Craig and Elizabeth Zammiello, 2015