Lee Turner

Risqué
Stone: Lithographic Crayon and Tusche and scraping using a razor blade
1 Run
205mm x 275mm
2006

I remember being told, when I first visited the United States, to avoid looking up at the skyscrapers, as this was a sure fire way of indicating to muggers that you were a tourist and a potentially good mark. Walking in some parts of the US can also indicate that you are poor. A high percentage of the population will tend to drive, even for short journeys of just a couple of blocks. There are many interesting sights to be seen, which are usually missed, if you are keeping your head down with blinkered vision or travelling at speed. To see objects or architecture from unusual angles can give you a new perspective on the mundane.

Risqué’s main feature is the water tower on top of the Dubin Paper Company warehouse on S. Columbus Blvd. in S.E. Philadelphia. The building itself is a fairly nondescript concert block, with barely legible, weather beaten old paintwork on the outer walls. It was drawn on stone, using lithographic pencils and water-based tusche washes with razor blade deletions. Ryan Hall (Tamarind PTP 03–04) editioned the print, while on a visit to Hole Editions from Los Angeles; making a refreshing and slightly anxious change for me, having not been on this side of a project for many years.

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