Let That Bad Air out

Forword I was introduced to New Orleans jazz at Grossman's Tavern in downtown Toronto, by a band called The Happy Pals. Michael Ondaatje's novel, Coming Through Slaughter stimulated my interest in the legend of Buddy Bolden. I wanted to create a silent novel about a particular sound and express the energy of a New Orleans parade through still images. Film footage from the late 1950s, of the Eureka Brass Band marching in New Orleans, gave me the visualization of how my story would unfold. The drawing process was absolutely essential in developing the block image. Drawings were overlayed, continually redrawn and combined with collaged photography. This helped to develop a rich quality of depth and a full spectrum of space. A second editing process occurred while cutting into the blocks. I was able to reevaluate my images as they were being finalised. I chose linoleum as a cutting surface for this reason. The original manuscript was printed by Justin Labine and myself, in black ink using a Grafix Proofing Press. I embraced the expressionists completely. The sensation of raw emotion; a tangled jumble of exposed nerves and explosive actions. The relief print is inherent of these qualities. What translates from a block to paper is a balance of spontaneous mark making, what is created in an ecstasy of fumbling, juxtaposed with strategic highly constructed marks of precision.Berg, Stefan is the author of 'Let That Bad Air out', published 2007 under ISBN 9780889842960 and ISBN 0889842965.