Object—Rope #7

Created in 1980, Object--Rope #7 belongs to an early series in which Hamanishi subjected commonplace objects to the intense scrutiny of the mezzotint technique. A length of rope, twisted from individual fibers into strands and from strands into the finished cord, offered Hamanishi a subject of extraordinary textural complexity. The mezzotint process, with its capacity to render the finest gradations of light and shadow, transforms the rope from a utilitarian object into a study in how intertwined cylindrical forms create patterns of highlight and shadow at multiple scales. Each fiber catches light differently from its neighbors, and the larger twist of the rope creates a repeating spiral of light and dark bands. The seventh entry in the series suggests sustained investigation of the same subject under varied conditions of lighting, angle, or rope type.