Pipes and Plugs

This image came from the radiator heating pipes and electric plugs on the wall of a Pratt graduate art studio building. The artist was exploring using imagery from his daily life that he could make almost unrecognizable in an abstract composition.
Technically this print is important because it was the first print where the artist experimented with applying a coat of varnish on the surface of the finished print. This made the colors appear as bright and shiny as they do when the ink is still wet. Prior to this time silkscreen prints had a chalky, matte finish appearance. Pond later refined this technique and it became one of the hallmarks of his work. He felt it was both a technological and aesthetic advancement in the use of silkscreen for his print work because by varnishing the prints he could enhance the brightness and intensity of the colors.