Running on Empty is an etching from 2016 by American printmaker David Avery. It is pencil signed, titled and editioned 30/30. It was printed by the artist on ivory Van Gelder Simili Japon wove paper and the platemark measures 5-7/8 x 5-7/8 inches.
David Avery channels the Master printmaker Hendrick Goltzius's circular engravings The Four Disgracers, done in 1588, for the updated etched composition Running on Empty. Tantalus, having offended the gods, is tumbling down to earth. As he falls, Tantalus holds a gas nozzle which spews gasoline into the atmosphere. In the background can be found smokestacks belching smoke, an oil derrick, an automobile, a gasoline station, an oil pump jack and, at the right, mountains with a large elephant. Is he falling to earth or hell? The text around the image reads: Those Who Cannibalize Their Children's Future - And Expect No Consequences, Quam Miser What Agonies Of Thirst Tantalus Suffers Who Would Feed His Children To The Gods.
As to his creative output, Avery’s own words anticipate the questions of the viewer: “Where do my ideas come from? The same place as everyone else’s—the brain. Or more precisely, they come from the interaction between experience and imagination that takes place within the brain, and I tend to think of my discovery of images in terms of receptivity rather than inspiration or creativity. If anything, my intent in pursuing a carefully worked out and highly detailed image is to work towards an inward goal unbounded by a set beginning or end, rather than trying to make some inner vision tangible. Even a simple nursery rhyme, once you start picking at it, will reveal layer upon layer of associations and further meanings. I consider my work successful to the extent that it continues to generate multiple interpretations, releasing this capacity for receptivity to the mysterious and the ambivalent that reflects the essential vibrancy of life.”
David Avery, born 4 February 1952, has been creating finely detailed black and white etchings in San Francisco for over thirty years. Originally trained as a classical musician, Avery discovered etching almost by accident in a class at a local community college. After learning the basic techniques, he intently pursued his own course of discovery, being essentially self-taught. Over the years, he has developed an exceptional technique and has created a remarkable body of finely wrought miniature etchings and drypoints. He prefers printing in black and white finding the subtleties and tonalities most capable of creating the psychological mood that allows his work to be effective.
Avery has a long and active exhibition history and his prints have earned him numerous awards and honors. He has been a member of and exhibited with the California Society of Printmakers, the Washington Printmakers, and the Society of American Graphic Artists. His works are represented in the collections of the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Turner Print Museum, California State University, Chico, California; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; the New York Public Library, New York; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California; Stanford University Library, Special Collections, Stanford, California; and the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
