Mike Houston
Home Stereo, 2007
Woodcut on canvas
54 x 42 inches
Edition Size: 15
Printers: Phil Sanders, Deborah Chaney, Mike Houston, Martin Mazorra
Home Stereo, like much of the work produced by Cannonball press, is a woodcut on MDF board, printed on heavyweight, unprimed canvas, which is then hemmed and grommetted for hanging. For this relief print, Houston cut away the non-image area, leaving a raised portion, which, once printed, appears as line. Home Stereo is one of a series of prints that addresses the dynamism and density of the marketplace. The image is a reminiscence of a pre-internet era, when teenagers and audio-geeks collected analog sound equipment in pursuit of the ultimate stereo system. The profusion of amps and speakers evokes the desire to scavenge and amass more than just a sound system; it is a construction of identity as well.
About the artist
Cannonball Press has a particular passion for relief printing. Their images are chock full of social satire, sardonic wit, and humor that skirts the edges of a truly American counterculture: hillbilly pirate rock’n’roll. Houston and Mazorra live and work in Brooklyn, NY and log more road trips than the average rock band. They recently returned from South Africa where they wove a 70’ rock python, constructed entirely of wood cut images of endangered African animals, through a crowd of thousands like a Chinese Dragon. You can visit Cannonball Press' website at www.cannonballpress.com