Artist Profile: Matt Neff

Matt Neff

"Eidophusicon"

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Artist profile

Matthew Neff is a mixed media artist living and working in Philadelphia. He currently teaches printmaking, manages the print shop and the Common Press at the University of Pennsylvania. Matthew received his M.F.A. in 2005 from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.F.A. from Indiana University in 2002, and a B.A. in Art History from Indiana University in 2002.

Artist's statement

The eighteenth-century Eidophusicon has been variously described as a mechanical theater, a miniature stage, a diorama, a panorama, or a physiorama. Featuring lighting, mechanical motion, sound effects, architectural simulation, dramatic special effects and something akin to a storyline, the Eidophusicon would probably be described today as 'multimedia' or ‘virtual[real]ity.

This body of work was made from plexi-glass letters etched, cut, mounted, and printed on a Vandercook No. 4 proof press. Layering the etched letters in different ways, allowing them to vibrate and moir é made for an exciting variable edition.

This series is based on an original edition of 100 made for the Center for Book Arts in NY as part of a folio project touring the country featuring new trends in letterpress printing around the country. Eidophusicon was originally conceived, designed, and printed by Matt Neff and Christopher Van Auken. The title of the edition originates from an 18th century spectacle of moving image made by Philip James de Loutherbourg.

Web links

mattneffonline.com

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