From 1999 until the artist's untimely death in 2006, Biddington's had the joy and honor of presenting many of Richard Mock's original linocut prints. Mock possessed acute political awareness and wit as well as extraordinary talent and speed as a printmaker. A provocative story would barely break in the news media, and within 3 or 4 hours we at Biddington's would receive an email with a fully realized linocut print. It was like magic! Not only do Mock's prints provide intelligent insight, but his compositions are well structured, visually engaging and carry much of the history of art within them. From the 20th century Mexican revolutionary prints engendered by José Guadalupe Posada reaching back to 15th century German woodblock prints of Albrecht Durer, a rich inheritance informs Mock's work. In reviewing these images (made between 1999-2003) years after the news that provoked their creation, we are struck by how simply beautiful they are and how the unreason, absurdity or violence they depict seems, alas, a constant. In being at once timely and timeless, Richard Mock moved his editorial printmaking well beyond current events ephemera--beyond politics into art.
"Spy USA" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
January 2003: the eagle's eyes are everywhere.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Forboding" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
November 2002: the spectre of war looms for the United States.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Fair Game" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
October 2002: With snipers loose, Americans discover how it feels to be the quarry.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"New USA Foreign Policy" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
October 2002: Bush 2 administration favors a heavy-handed approach to foreign policy.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Reptilian CEO" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
2002: corporate CEO's go back-to-basics in a most disquieting way.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Homeland Security" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
June 2002: new domestic security proposals place restraints on American ideals.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"FBI-CIA Frog Fight" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
June 2002: intense fighting on Beltway lily pond.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"National Security Shell Game" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
May 2002: highjacking predictions confound George W. Bush.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Venezuelan Coup Coup" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
2002: Venezuela's coup/counter coup==so quick that not even the money moved.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Massacre of Innocence" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
2002: tanks leveling villages and children lauded for suicide, more than just lives are lost in the Israeli-Palestinian tragedy.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Endangering Species" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
March 2002: isolating itself with nuclear weapons, the eagle becomes a threatening bird.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Trust Me, Red" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
February 2002: Bush administration promotes a domestic policy with teeth.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Enron Employees' Severance" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
January 2002: national attention returns to domestic concerns as the unveiling of the Enron charade takes its economic toll.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Yikies" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
December 2001: shoe bomb terrorist captured on Paris to New York flight.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Military Tribunal Executes Justice" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
December 2001: at nighttime under a crescent moon, the American eagle gets lynched.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Their Hearts in Our Lungs" hand-colored linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
October 2001: a spiritual and physical melding, World Trade Center ash is breathed into the bodies of surviving New Yorkers.
Variable Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper. Watercolor.
"Poison Pen Pal Paranoia" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
Autumn 2001: even the mail becomes a threat.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"America Prep-air-es" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
Autumn 2001: gasmask and flag become "musts".
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"New American Still Life" hand-colored linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
October 2001: classic autumnal still life includes a new element.
Variable Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper. Watercolor.
MORE INFORMATION.
"Jingoism Kills" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
September 2001: blindly zealous patriotism threatens democratic ideals.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Blowback Strikes" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
September 2001: a retaliation cycle leaves no one standing.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"GW Contemplates War" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
September 2001:in the grim days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a solemn President Bush considers his options.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Desert Vermin Attack World Trade Center" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock--September 11th Cycle
September 2001: creatures lacking humanity destroy New York's twin towers.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Taming the Wildfires" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
Summer 2001: rampaging nature causes fear in the western US.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Homeless under Attack" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
Produced for the 07/2001 issue of Street News: disturbing reports that murders of homeless persons not investigated.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Gentrification" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
June 2001: destruction of lower-middle-class neighborhoods.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"PUNCH and JUDY" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
Spring 2001: days before the Swedish police shot protesters at the EEC summit, Richard Mock created this print in response to the race riots in England.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Missiles in Space" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
Spring 2001: US space-based missile proliferation.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Fragging" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
May 2001: Vietnam War returned with inquiries into record of Senator Kerrey.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Sea Cruise" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
Spring 2001: simply enjoying life.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Democrats" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
March 2001: the "loyal opposition" in the wake of the 2000 elections.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"New Bankruptcy Bill" linocut print by Richard Mock
February 2001: Congress a versus the ever-struggling working class.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Tax Cuts" linocut print by Richard Mock
2001: George W. Bush administration hard at work.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Alaskan Wildlife"linocut print by Richard Mock
2001: the environment in the oil-hungry US.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Ashcroft's 'I'" black linocut print by Richard Mock
January 2001: gimlet-eyed view of the newly appointed attorney general.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Voting in America" linocut print by Richard Mock
2000: bruised and battered American voter.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Kosovo" color linocut print by Richard Mock
1999: in the tradition of 14th and 15th century woodcuts, devils blithely plow up fields of human bones as a Balkan village burns.
Variable Edition: 20. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper. Watercolor.
"Attacker Hacker" relief print by editorial illustrator Richard Mock
Winter 2000: hackers attack corporate e-commerce sites.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Kansas" relief print by editorial illustrator Richard Mock
Summer 1999: Kansas Board of Education's decides to downplay Darwinian evolution in favor of creationism in the public schools.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.
"Valentine" linoleum cut print by Richard Mock
February 2003: personal trumps political.
Edition: 80. Size: 22 X 30 inches.
Materials: D.Smith 79 Black Ink on Rives BFK Paper.