W. G. Sofrin Fine Prints
BIOGRAPHY
photo
dsc03408
dscn0144.201110749
dsc_1042
sofrin_ensign
100_2557
100_2326
will_olin
thumb-1
img_0829
sc001fc7bf_3
sc0340b7d0
sideshelf1_2_2_2
sc0162e06e
defenderdraft
img_0643
In 2006 Will Sofrin entered the fine art industry in a very unconventional manner. He began developing a project in which he would create lines drawings produced by hand for certain designs developed by Nathanael G. Herreshoff. The selected designs were chosen because of their great significance to American Naval Architecture History. Over the past four years Sofrin has been developing these drawings at a large-scale, some over six feet in length. His medium is archival ink on Mylar film, and his techniques make use of traditional drafting tools such as drafting ducks, splines, Copenhagen Ships Curves, erasing shields, and scale rulers. The final work is a clean crisp plan, consisting of finely drawn lines that represent thousands of calculated numbers derived form the original offsets. The presentation is simplistic, almost minimalistic allowing the very complex genius of the design to reign clear to the viewer. When interning at the Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum in 2000, Sofrin learned that the famous naval architect Nathanael G. Herreshoff had not developed lines plans of his designs. In 2007 when developing the proposal for his project, Sofrin reviewed many original plans archived in the Hart Nautical Collection, MIT Museum. When the Herreshoff manufacturing Company closed, the Haffenreffer family loaned, and eventually gifted the entire catalogue of designs from the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company with full rights of ownership to MIT. Sofrin, in consultation with the Curator of the Hart Nautical Collection, Kurt Hasselbalch, devised a method to produce by hand and document accurate lines plans from the original tables of offsets. Using this system allowed Sofrin to draw in some cases the first lines plans derived from Herrshoffs actual designs. In 2009 Sofrin had achieved a licensing agreement with MIT allowing him to develop the lines plans of select designs and from them, produce only 100 signed and numbered prints for artistic use. In developing the formatting for his works, Sofrin decided to follow in the traditional footsteps of original HMCo. Drawings, and include color in his work. A common assumption has been that CAD programs inspired the colored lines in his work; and that black and white was a traditional format. There are many examples of many designers, architects, or draftsmen who would use various colored inks to increase the comprehension of various elements of the drawing. Today, these drawings are not only the documentation and remaining evidence of the industrial growth of society, but a forgotten and under appreciated art. Sofrins work has grown since he began. He is represented in various galleries throughout the Northeast, and teaches a credited course in drafting at MIT. He continues to add new Herreshoff plans to his series, and has also expanded his service to offer open edition prints of design by various designers. A rather new service are his customizable prints in which various components can be modified such as colors, sail numbers, captions and size.
PRESS
Main Page
Services
Biography
Contact
Copyright © 2011 William Sofrin. All rights reserved.
Main Page
Services
Contact
