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Four-fold Rotational Wasp - April 1980

In April 1980, Acevedo produced the pencil drawing called: Four - fold Rotational Wasp - Fish Orifice Covet. Being structured on a 5x7 matrix of squares, it utilizes a combination of figurative elements as well as abstract graphical components. The latter taking one of two forms: modernist hard-edged Josef Albers-like non-objective forms or Escher-inspired metaphorical geometry, i.e. zoomorphic periodic space division.18 years later in June 1998 Acevedo was invited to show two of his early works in the Homage to Escher exhibition at the M.C.Escher Centennial Congress in ROME. The works were Four-fold Rotational Wasp and the Digital Ectoplasmic Kitchen (1987)

Acevedo: 'Four-fold' began as the basis of a grayscale study for my color class with Judith Crook at Art Center College of Design. It was in fact the first complete work of mine that was a direct result of my study of Escher's notebooks the previous Summer. It was seeing and transcribing an insect pattern from Escher's notebooks that inspired me to create the four-fold rotational wasp. I could have easily emulated figure-ground interchangeability of Escher's zoomorphics, but I felt my work would seem too derivative. I decided to adopt an open-packed style.

My rationale at the time was based on looking at photographs of groups of parachutists holding hands on their way down. I noticed the abstract or non-objective interstitial spaces between the figures - you don't see Escher's one to one figure-ground toggle. Funnily enough at the time, I didn't reference the ubiquitous use of the open linked methods of tiling the plane as seen in textile pattern design - especially in botanical motifs.

Some of the figurative allegorical components of the composition were described by its author in 1982. Here it follows in a slightly abridged form: At the left a grouping of three men...The middle gentleman is self absorbed as he smugly embraces a large fish. The formally attired bespectacled man at his right looks on emphatically as he seems to suggest an alternative preoccupation. In this case, an isolated component of the tessellated domain that he clutches in his hand. The third man in the drawing's center is a Magritian-like bystander...very simply... standing by. At the picture's extreme right is a another episodic image which obviously derives from Salvador Dali - apparitional children becoming the architectural facade they are running towards.