astra velum
Beauty is only skin deep. But ah! me; freckles go to the bone.
~Mark Twain
April, a freckled woman in this series, told me a story from her childhood: One day after playing outside, her grandmother asked her to go wash up. She went to the bathroom and did so, but grandma wasn’t satisfied. “Your face isn’t clean! Go scrub it some more!” The young girl was distraught, for all that was left on her skin were her freckles, and no amount of scrubbing would make them go away.
In a world that flaunts flawlessness as the ideal, can we find real beauty in the blemishes? More than once, while photographing for this series, women thanked me for making something beautiful out of what they often viewed as an imperfection.
At its essence, Astra Velum explores the beauty of flawed human skin, with its freckles and scars, overlaid upon us like a thin veil of stars.
This series is hand-printed by the artist as a limited edition set of photogravures with a chin collé of Japanese paper. As Melanie McWhorter of Photo-Eye Books wrote, “These lovely, luminescent, one-of-a-kind prints really must be seen to be appreciated.” For a better understanding of the process of photogravure, my specific process in creating these unique prints, an artist statement, and more information about the limited edition portfolio, read this PDF: Astra Velum Introduction.
This series is in numerous museum collections, and was featured by National Geographic.
York
Celine
Fox
April
Ella
Alexandra
Alisha
Angela
Asia
Cheryl
Clements
Erica
Georgia
Sarah
DaVinci
Melia
Nahani
Natalie
Navae
Samantha
Shade
Kendra
Tiah
Photogravure print of Ella
Photogravure print of Navae
Photogravure print of York
The astra velum limited edition book
The Astra Velum Limited Edition Artist Book with the Collector’s Clamshell Case
In 2010, when the hand-printed photogravures of the Astra Velum series were first introduced, they received a glowing response from collectors and curators. As Melanie McWhorter of Photo-Eye Books wrote, “These lovely, luminescent, one-of-a-kind prints really must be seen to be appreciated.” Susan Burnstine wrote in Black and White Magazine, “Fritz Liedtke’s stunning photogravure portfolio Astra Velum is a remarkable achievement.”
To accompany the photogravures, I am pleased to present the Astra Velum Limited Edition Artist Book. I’ve collaborated with author Gina Ochsner (whose writings have garnered Guggenheim and NEA grants, as well as the Flannery O’Connor Prize and Oregon Book Award, and are published in The New Yorker, Tin House, Glimmertrain and the Kenyon Review), who wrote a poignant essay to accompany the work. I’ve also worked closely with award-winning bookmaker Rory Sparks.
Together, we’ve created more than just another book of text and photographs, but a work of art in itself. The way the book shimmers in the light, the depth of text embedded in the page, the richness of the images…it’s something that feels solid in your hands, but also moves deep into your heart.
The Astra Velum series has been featured by National Geographic, awarded the Critical Mass Top 50 award, Grand Prize at the Lishui Photography Festival in China, published in numerous magazines, shown internationally, and added to national collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Yale University Library Collection, Haggerty Museum of Art, Griffin Museum of Photography, and the Scripps Collection.
The book is limited to an edition of only 25 copies. You can also purchase the book with the inclusion of a photogravure print. See below for more information.
Picking up the book, the first thing a viewer notices is the cover’s rich handmade paper embedded with mica, custom made for us by Cave Papers. It shimmers like stars in the night sky as it turns in the hand. The book’s substantial thickness and heft harken back to old world craftsmanship.
Opening the book, one notices the double-thickness pages, which open to lay flat. Each spread features one of the award-winning images from the Astra Velum series, stunningly printed on archival cotton-rag paper.
Gina Ochsner’s essay In Praise of Pigmentation opens the book. It’s a poignant accompaniment to the work, written by someone with her own history with freckled and flawed skin. In her inimitable and intimate way, she wrestles with the question: In a world that flaunts flawlessness as the ideal, can we find beauty in the blemishes?
Letterpress printed, the essay is deeply embossed into the thick Crane Lettra paper.
The book also includes an introduction by the artist, and a colophon numbered and signed by the artist.
Purchase your limited-edition copy of the book today. (As of today, only 3 copies remain. I’d encourage you to order yours before they’re all gone.)