MAB: (Etching II) 1971 Yellow, 2016

Binion employs nonobjective forms while undermining the detachment such shapes connote by adding personal and subjective elements, a practice resulting in what he terms "handmade geometry." A grid structures this print, yet the lines are hand drawn, as is the large circle in the center; both elements contrast with the precision and standardization characteristic of hard-edged Minimalist art. The artist also incorporates autobiographical references in the title (via his initials) and a photographic portrait, which is repeated throughout the composition. These photographs, reproduced in black ink under a vibrant yellow, are arranged in horizontal and vertical bands that recall both the seriality of film strips and the photo-mechanical screenprints made by Andy Warhol, who, like Binion, used photographic portraits, often of himself. In other works, Binion has included elements such as copies of his birth certificate, pages from his address book, and family photographs. He refers to this archive as his DNA, thus inspiring the title of his DNA series.