PINK MOON is a tribute to both the song of the same title by Nick Drake and to the MAGIC HOUR.
This is the time of day either right after sunrise or before sunset. Also referred to as the GOLDEN HOUR, it is when the light outside has just the right hue of yellow and red.
Beside from being Hochbaum's favorite times of the day, these are also the times when he would most likely be shooting with Carly, his niece who is pictured in this series.
David and Carly have been working on a photo project together for over 10 years. This image is from their year 9 shoot.
The song" PINK MOON" by Nick Drake is one of those tunes that has been floating around the back of David's mind for many years.
Music is very often a catalyst for inspiration in Hochbaum's work. One will often find lyrics or song titles scrawled onto the surfaces of his pieces and he often create tribute works.
Hochbaum recalls :..when I created this hand colored print I looked at it and the song popped into my head. I decided it would not only be a celebration of the moon and it's ability to manipulate peoples minds and bodies, but also a nod to the song that comes to mind when I spy a pinkish crescent moon in the sky.".
Hochbaum created 4 different study prints, all unique and giving the moon multiple characters as it often has. They are PINK, BLUE, STRATA, and PHANTOM
This version is Phantom.
Phantom is a hand colored pigment print from a scanned 120 film negative.
The digital print is on 300 gsm 100% cotton matt textured paper by Hahnemuhle.
It is hand-colored with acrylic washes.
It is mounted on a panel of MDF board.
The print is sized with a thin layer of PVA and then coated with a beeswax/dammar crystal/carnauba wax encaustic of the artist's own homemade recipe.
This eliminates the need for glass, giving protection and texture to the work.
The print is mounted behind a mat with a 5" x 5" window hand carved into a MDF panel that is painted and coated with liming wax.
The 16.5" x 16.5" x 1.5" frame which holds the matted work is a handmade custom from pine. It is stained with a combination of black on the sides and a natural face. It is then coated with a walnut finishing wax.
The panel which the matted print is mounted is signed as well as the back of the same panel and the back of the frame.
This is a special opportunity to collect this rare study displayed within a frame handmade by the artist himself.
Be on the lookout for the 2 remaining study works, STRATA, and PHANTOM.
I approached each one with different technique and color.
All the pigment prints Hochbaum offers are created in house by the artist himself.
"I approach the digital darkroom much as I have the traditional darkroom for over 25 years by treated each image with incredible care and consideration before releasing any edition.
There is a great deal of thought put into sizes, tones and papers used for each particular image.
I have the same high demand for quality for my digital print work as I have had for all my work for nearly 3 decades.
I use only high quality, archival pigments and papers to ensure stunning tones and textures for long lasting works." -D.Hochbaum