Chelate is part of the Isomorphics series of drawings, collages, and artist’s books that represents the 11th phase of the Objects on My Dresser project, in which Rapoport used a series of found objects as an idiosyncratic rubric to explore her psyche.
Chelation is a chemical process in which a compound forms a ring-like structure used to remove or control a metal ion, with applications in chemistry and medicine, including combating heavy metal and radiation exposure. The term is derived from the Greek work chele, meaning claw. Chemical images in this work were used with permission from the laboratory of Ken Raymond, Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley.
In this artist’s book, Rapoport juxtaposes images from her Objects on My Dresser series with linear diagrams and phrases appropriated from her mentor at graduate school, Erle Loran. Loran was an artist, Professor of Painting at UC Berkeley, and author of Cezanne’s Compositions (1943), which offered a formal analytic approach to constructing the picture plane and which was a lifelong influence on and foil for Rapoport’s approach to composition.
Chelate, 1981. Photocopy on acetate and paper, bound with metal and board, 17 pages, 11.5W x 17.25H inches each.