Marcel Schwittlick and The Long Run
Written by arltcollector
Artist Spotlight is ARTXCODE's community initiative focused on showcasing talented artists beyond our roster.
Marcel Schwittlick is a computer artist with an exceptional talent for transforming data into stunning plotted artworks. His most notable collection to date, Upward Spiral, comprises 144 works produced with a custom-made drawing machine that translates digital geometry into a continuous spiral movement.
The physicality of Schwittlick’s work emerges from a fascinating fusion of keystrokes, mouse movement data, drawing machines, and traditional art supplies like crayon and felt pens. His artistic practice presents a dialogue between his own dynamic energy, nostalgia, and emotional depth and has effectively unveiled a distinct 'Schwittlick style'.
The Long Run, SP2 Gallery, Berlin, 2023
"The Long Run is a series of original artworks created using a digital pen plotter, emptying a collection of 30-year-old vintage felt tip pens. Each piece measures 40x120cm, comprises 2.5 million individual dots, and was created over 23 hours. The variations in the colors and textures come from the unique history of each pen, as they have been aging and drying out for 30 years. The emptying of these pens marks the end of an era, as the pens are no longer being produced and cannot be obtained through monetary means. For the three pieces being shown at SP2, eight pens of the same color were used, resulting in subtle variations in hue, saturation, and texture within each stripe.”
Can you explain the thought process behind the title The Long Run?
Deciding on the title wasn't easy, because there are so many different aspects of it for me, and setting a title for a work that will be minted on the blockchain is a pretty important aspect, as it can’t be changed. Ultimately, I was thinking about how the works can not be reproduced, take quite a while to complete (each piece takes around 23 to 24 hours), and use a set of pens that you can't buy in the store because they have been out of stock since the early 90s. The Long Run aspect also refers to the unexpected yet appealing shape of the artwork, which can be interpreted differently by viewers (frankly, it’s just very long, 120cm). And, finally, all of these pens that I’ve used have come to the end of their 'run', however long.
What was your inspiration for this project?
The concept is a continuation of techniques first employed in ‘Composition #83’, which has an ironic origin, in that, in a way, it’s actually printing because of the pixelated nature of the instructions I’m giving the plotter. So I’m exploring the interplay between prints and plots, as well as the unique characteristics of vintage pens and plotter machines.
Over the years, I've built up a vintage pens and plotters collection. So this project is a culmination of years of experimentation, learning, and improvement. Each specific machine has their own unique mechanical characteristics and history, which add an interesting layer of meaning. The aspect of surprise in the process of creation is one of the fundamental principles of generative art, which typically involves the use of algorithms to generate unpredictable outcomes. In this sense, The Long Run is an analog expression of the generative art process, with the unique qualities of each pen contributing to the unpredictable variations in the color and texture of each stripe.
By working with these historic tools and embracing the unpredictability of the physical drawing process, I’m creating truly unique works that cannot be replicated. I want to celebrate the history of the materials, while simultaneously acknowledging the need to move beyond their limitations and embrace new creative possibilities in the future.
Can you go into more detail about the pens and machines you used?
The machines really showcase the engineering skills of their original developers – from speed, to being able to control pen pressure, to general durability. These A0 machines, which were discontinued in the early '90s due to the development of inkjet printers, have allowed me to explore a vast range of creative possibilities, and their unique construction has made it possible for me to produce two and a half million dots per work.
HP7595A + HP7596A
Reusing older equipment is something I’m interested in exploring more broadly, as with my project repurposing old MacBooks, titled Never change a running system.
As for the pens, I used a simple set of eight pens for each of the 6 works in this series. One is using 8 red pens, another is using 8 green pens, and so on, with Yellow, Black, Blue, and Rainbow. Since the pens are really old, their tone has been changing, black turns rather gray, and green turns into a violet/purple when 30 years have gone by. These are simple felt tip pens that were sold with the machines back in the day.
A plotter pen catalogue from the 80s
Can you walk us through your process of creating The Long Run, which is actually multiple pieces in one?
There are six pieces in The Long Run, with three currently exhibited at SP2 Gallerie in Berlin. Initially, I planned to use all the pens on one sheet, but they had more ink than anticipated, so I grouped them. The machines have a revolver or carousel that loads eight different pens, and coincidentally I had only about 8 of each color left. It kind of fell into place. Sometimes the process feels like surfing, adjusting parameters and catching good waves when they come.
The Long Run, Plotted
The Long Run, Plotted
My daily routine involved waking up, checking the remote cameras to make sure the workshop hadn’t gone up in flames, and then starting cutting paper to the exact millimeter for the machines. I'd spend time straightening and flattening the paper with weights before repeating the process throughout the day. Since it’s impossible to preview or estimate how one of these plots came out, there was really some excitement about what it was going to look like, especially after such a long and steady process of constant dot printing. I created a few little sketches before finding the right ones, and then just went with the same algorithm and let the pens do the 'random' artifacts.
The Long Run, Plotted
The Long Run, Plotted
Can you talk a little bit more about the exhibition, and how it developed?
Two years ago, I met Ken, the gallerist of SP2, at a Hic Et Nunc meeting. I admire his work, particularly his podcast 'Arbitrarily Deterministic', where he interviews generative artists and discusses various topics. I've had the opportunity to speak with him on several occasions, and it’s been a pleasure. We had been thinking about the possibility of collaborating for quite some time, and now, it's finally come to it.
1h of documentary material on loop at SP2 Berlin