Stephen Wozniak
Same Six (High Tolerance)
2019
Screen print on kraft paper
20″ H x 20″ W (51 cm H x 51 cm W)
Edition of 20

Stephen Wozniak
Same Six (Higher Tolerance)
2020
Screen print on Arches paper
11″ H x 11″ W (30 cm H x 30 cm W)
Edition of 20

Exhibited in the 2020 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition at Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, Arkansas, January 23 – February 29, 2020. Exhibited in the Authentic Marks’ 3rd International Miniature Printmaking Exhibition, Zayed University, curated by Shaghaf Group, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, August 27 – September 5, 2020. Exhibited in the exhibition Nerd Alert, Moses Lake Museum and Art Center, curated by Dollie Boyd, Moses Lake, Washington, August 20 – September 23, 2021.

Same Six (Higher Tolerance) refers to the nominal valuation and tolerance of precision measurements, as well as the real three-dimensional objects that are marked with such values. The print serves to help viewers compare and contrast their perception of representation and reality defined by allegorical and literal identifiers.

Each represented box is labeled with an increasingly higher tolerance number “6” – 6.0, 6.00 and 6.000 – but that all ultimately equal six, nonetheless. This 6 can indicate the measured edge of each box, the number of faces on a physical box or another value. The series of 6s is also a play on the architect Mies van der Rohe’s adage, “The devil is in the details,” alluding to a mysterious hidden element in the details, here, which may be the nominal mark – 666 – of that devil. The imagery ostensibly seems simple, but may take more time and effort than expected to review. This, in turn, refers to the antecedent phrase, “God is in the details,” to van der Rohe’s quote, expressing the idea that whatever you do, it should be done thoroughly. The details are important.