These are the books I looked at for background on what Woodblock printing actually is. I had originally crafted the gallery around images from these books...unfortunately I couldn't find most of them online and I recreated my gallery selection.
Books:
Farmer, Jane. American Prints from Wood: An Exhibition of Woodcuts and Wood Engravings. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, D.C. 1975
A small volume filled with examples of western woodblock printing. Essentially an expanded showguide for an exhibition held at the Smithsonian Institute in the 1970's. The introduction had lots of information about the western development of the craft.
Fern, Alex. The Wood and the Graver. Crown Publishers, New York. 1977
Large coffee table book featuring the biography and collected works of artist Fritz Eichenburg (who I featured in my show). The end of the book gave a nice explanation, as well as photographs, about Eichenburg's process of creating a woodblock. Beautiful full page illustrations-- great to see the intricate detail of his work, which can sometimes get lost on fuzzy online pictures.
Gregson, Wilson. A Student's Guide to Wood Engraving. B.T. Batsford, LTD, London. 1953
First half of the book talks about the history of Woodblock printing coming to America (1st printer in America was Dr. Anderson in1793). Gregson also talks a lot about Bewick, who considered a master of the craft. Bewick invented the "white line style" as well as crosshatching. He did a lot of people and animals rather than landscapes so I didn't feature any of his work in my show.
Illing, Richard. The Art of Japanese Prints. John Calmann and Cooper, LTD, London. 1980
Mostly used this to look at various prints. Didn't end up using the ones that I marked, but I got a nice sense of the ukiyo-e style.
Mannering, Douglas. Great Works of Japanese Graphic Art. Shooting Star Press, New York. 1995
This little book was awesome. Featured a great introduction on the Japanese style of woodblock printing. Beautiful color illustrations. Lots of information on the "masters" of this style.
Smith, Henry (II). Hokusai: One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji. George Braziller, Inc. Publishers, New York. 1988
Information on Hokusai. Only skimmed through it. Illustrations weren't in color. This is where I got the information for his biography though. The rest of the artists I used websites.
Websites (artists biographies):
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/hiroshige/
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Bundle Three, Talk to Someone/Go There
The two people I used as sources were Ashlea Heck, the PR person aboard SeaFair as well as Lee Ann, one of the owners of the boat. Lee Ann asked me to set up a small gallery of her personal collection to fill an unoccupied space. I learned that galleries need to number and list all the paintings before they're even hung. Do do this, you simply put labels with a number on the back of the painting and a corresponding numbered list. Lee Ann wanted me to list them (the numbered list is eventually turned into a price list fopr buyers) as Artist Last Name, First Name. "Title of Piece" medium, year. After that's done you have to create the labels for all the pieces, which should read:
"Title of the Piece"
Artsist's Last Name, First Name
Medium, Date
(note: really obnoxious to rearrange the order from the price lists, but hey, apparently that's how it's done)
The other thing I learned at the gallery was how to make a proper Press Release. Ashlea is the press liason here on the boat and one afternoon she was talking about writing up a press release. I jumped at the opportunity and asked her to forward it to me when she was done so I could see how they were set up. This is what she sent to me (There was a simple square border around the release as well, but I can't seem to copy that into this blog):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Title of the Piece"
Artsist's Last Name, First Name
Medium, Date
(note: really obnoxious to rearrange the order from the price lists, but hey, apparently that's how it's done)
The other thing I learned at the gallery was how to make a proper Press Release. Ashlea is the press liason here on the boat and one afternoon she was talking about writing up a press release. I jumped at the opportunity and asked her to forward it to me when she was done so I could see how they were set up. This is what she sent to me (There was a simple square border around the release as well, but I can't seem to copy that into this blog):
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Ashlea Heck
239.949.5411/ aheck@ifae.com
ModernMasters Fine Art Joins Art Newport- aboard America’s Megayacht Venue- SeaFair
Newport, RI- July 7, 2011- SeaFair will be joined today by ModernMasters Fine Art & Brokerage, an Indianapolis-based fine art company that specializes in modern and contemporary masters ranging from Picasso to Warhol (http://www.modernmastersfab.com/) and will exhibiting over fifty works for purchase aboard SeaFair.
ModernMasters will feature an exhibit that explores modern and contemporary art by decade rather than genre. Beginning in the 1930s with etchings created by Pablo Picasso, the exhibit will next feature rare works from the 1950s by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali. The 1960s segment will include one of Warhol's iconic screenprints of Marilyn Monroe, along with works by Roy Lichtenstein and Joan Miro. The 1970's grouping includes a small original painting by Alexander Calder, original drawings by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and prints by Dali, Motherwell, and others. A strong presence of pop art is featured in the 1980s, including a coveted screen-print created by Keith Haring (Silence = Death), an original Warhol drawing, along with a small oil on canvas painting by Robert Motherwell. The 1990's fittingly ends with Roy Lichtenstein's print "Art Critic." The new millennium works feature, among other things, diamond dust pieces by Russell Young.
The ModernMasters exhibit will be open July 7th, and will run through July 19th. Three contemporary established Indianapolis-based artists they represent under the moniker of Indy Contemporary (http://www.indycontemporary.com/) will also be exhibited. The Indy Contemporary portion of the exhibit has a high tech twist. Collectors will experience the works of Indianapolis-based artists Walter Knabe, Constance Edwards Scopelitis, and Lois Main Templeton in both an active and interactive exhibit space - a concept which would have been impossible only a few years ago. They will be able to see the artists physically create various works, as well as being able to call up the artists' descriptions of their creations; all of this will be possible without being in the artists' studio or presence.
The duration of ModernMasters exhibition on SeaFair will include two special “Meet the Artist” events:
JULY 8, 2011, Friday
MEET THE ARTIST: WALTER KNABE
5:30pm - 7pm
MEET THE ARTIST: WALTER KNABE
5:30pm - 7pm
Chosen in 2010 as the official artist of the Indianapolis 500, master screen printer Walter Knabe specializes in painting and printmaking. His name is also synonymous with artistic luxury, as evidenced by his 2011 selection as the "Legend IN Design" and the worldwide demand for his hand-created wall coverings and fabrics. Knabe received his formal education at Columbia and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; he has since taught at the University of Wisconsin, as well as teaching at New York University, the School of Design (NY), and the Fashion Institute of Technology (NY). Among others, Knabe's early projects include working with Thomas Hart Benton on Benton's last mural in Joplin, Missouri. Knabe's works have been exhibited in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Art Museum, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and the Richmond Museum of Art, among other venues. His creations are in the homes and offices of film, sports, and m usic legends.
JULY 14, 2011, Thursday
MEET THE ARTIST: CONSTANCE EDWARDS SCOPELITIS
5:30pm - 7pm
MEET THE ARTIST: CONSTANCE EDWARDS SCOPELITIS
5:30pm - 7pm
Touted as one of the "exceptional" artists of 2010 (Studio Visit Magazine, Vol 11), painter extraordinaire Constance Edwards Scopelitis began her career studying under American figurative painting legend Isabel Bishop, and continued her study alongside other notable figurative painters such as David Leffel and Peter Cox. Thrice given the nod by American Art Collector (most recently in 2011), Scopelitis was also chosen, along with 24 other international artists, to attend an exclusive fellowship invitational in Holland in 2010. Scopelitis' mediums of choice are oil on linen or charcoal on paper, and she specializes in contemporary figurative works. Her fine art education at Indiana University and the Art Students League in New York served as the foundation for these accolades along with museum exhibits and notable corporate collections.
For more information on the artists please visit http://www.modernmastersfab.com/ or http://www.indycontemporary.com./
Art Newport, aboard SeaFair will be open daily from 11am-7pm at Perry Mill Wharf. For more information please visit http://www.expoships.com/ or call 239-273-1455. To purchase tickets, please visit http://www.expoships.com./
To visit our online press room and to download press images, please click here.
.... And that's how it's done. I guess I'll have to create my website first so I have stuff to link to in my press release. Which is cool, I like when the documents all inform one another.
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