SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: IMPROVISATION IN MEDAL SURFACE TEXTURE

I shouldn't reveal this, but it happened fifty years ago so maybe it can be told now. It's about that Meshed Faces Medallic Object illustrated in last week's E-Sylum.

Sculptor Harold Tovish visited Medallic Art Company's plant in New York City to choose the finish of the 12-inch galvano. The smaller medal was satisfactory, but he wanted the larger galvano to be different, the best art possible. Customarily the artist picks a patina color from the finishes that can be applied to a medallic item. While brown and green patinas are most common -- the easiest to apply -- virtually any color can be applied with different acids and different procedures.

Toviah was more concerned with the surface texture than color. The satin surface of the wide rim enclosed a clear background and a pair of "faces" -- all of smooth texture. Having all three congruent surfaces smooth is a no-no. It's bad art in medallic sculpture.

As the master sculptor that Tovish was, he wanted a texture on the background between the smooth rim and the smooth faces. It is good art to have contrast between two smooth surfaces.

A craftsman in Medallic Art's finishing department, the late Hugo Greco, was assigned the task to satisfy Tovish no matter what. Give him whatever he wanted. With Tovish by his side Greco tried the usual techniques using chasing tools -- daple and matting punches -- to apply the texture to the surface of the copper galvano.

Nothing he tried seem to satisfy Tovish. Greco sprinkled tiny beads of acid to form minute incuse areas in the surface. Even that was unsatisfactory; it looked like the craters on the moon.

In desperation, Hugo picked up a beer-can opener, the kind with a hard metal curved point that leaves a triangular opening in the can. He started scratching the surface in the background, forming hundreds of small incuse circles and arcs. After a few minutes of this he raised the galvano above his head for better light. Tovish raised his head to observe the result.

"That's it!" shouted Tovish.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
A HALF CENTURY OF MEDALLIC OBJECTS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n47a18.html)

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