Type | Original Gold Cyanotype
Inspiration | Katherine Johnson
Materials | Cyanotype, handmade paper, 24-carat gold leaf
Dimensions- 15in x 20in x 1.6in deep
Framed
Inspiration-
This artwork was inspired by NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. Throughout her extraordinary
career, Katherine broke boundaries and paved the way for women in stem. The space agency noted her
historical role as one of the first African American women to work for NASA.
During her 33 year career, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped
pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. She also computed the trajectory for Alan Shepard's
first space flight and worked on the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first men on the moon.
Katherine was a woman who handled great fame with genuine humility and great tragedy with enduring
hope, her remarkable journey ultimately brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough
racial terrain with soft-spoken grace—and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future
generations.
Series-
Women Who Changed The World
This series is a story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in
America’s space program—and whose contributions have been unheralded, until now.
A powerful, revelatory history essential to our understanding of race, discrimination, and achievement in
modern America. Interweaving the rich history of scientific achievement and technological innovation
with the intimate stories of these courageous, intelligent and determined women whose work forever
changed the world—and whose lives show how out of one of America’s most painful histories came one
of its proudest moments.
Technique-
Commemoration of a New Phase (Katherine’s Road Map to the Moon) was created by constructing a
hand-cut collage using female photographic portraiture, an illustration of the lunar cycles, photographs of
a NASA rocket and a halo made of gold and NASA emblems.
After coating the handmade paper with light-sensitive chemistry, it is left to dry in a dark room. The
large-scale negative is contact printed onto the paper by exposure to daylight (UV rays). The print is then
processed by thoroughly washing in water to remove any unexposed solution. It can then be hung to dry,
developing to full density Prussian blue after 24 hours. Once the image is fixed it is hand finished with
24-carat gold leaf.
Dimensions
Framed: 15in x 20in x 1.6in deep
Paper
Handmade recycled cotton rag paper:
150gsm / 100% Cotton Rag / Recycled / Acid Free / Medium Rough
Mount
We use float mounting for all of our framed cyanotypes. The artwork floats on archival, acid
free foam core mount board above a museum grade, archival, acid free, snow-white 8001
mount board, to showcase the paper texture and deckled edging.
Framing
Framed artwork will arrive ready to hang.
Each frame is handmade by our London based design team. All frames come with gallery
spec, 2mm thick Artglass AR70 / 2mm anti-reflective/ 79% UV protected glazing as
standard.
If clients would like a bespoke frame, please let me know as I can have them made in
alternative colours, gilding and glazing options.
- Subject Matter: woman