Baren Digest Thursday, 31 May 2001 Volume 13 : Number 1437 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GWohlken Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 09:12:21 -0400 Subject: [Baren 14607] Re: Baren Digest v15 #1436 Welcome to Baren, Princess. That's a fine name to have. Every little girl dreams of being a Princess. Look forward to seeing your prints someday when you get a website together. Gayle Wohlken Burton, Ohio ------------------------------ From: "Gillyin Gatto" Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 14:19:22 -0700 Subject: [Baren 14608] Skokie show congratulations and thank you to Julio WOW ! i just got back to e-mail i am very impressed with the Skokie show as well as ecstatic to be part of it-- i love the way you hang artwork, Julio very vibrant and alive not static very well done -i can't tell from my screen- how the # 9 are hung? are they unmatted with those' hinged metal clips that sink into foam core' on the back ? or are they adhered to the wall ? or? are most of the prints unframed ? at any rate i really like the effect s then i continued on into further baren newsletters to discussion of quilt shows and realized that the display of exchange # 9 which Julio hung three by nine is SUPURB in that it takes on the appearance of BEING a quilt what a joy it is to be able to share ones work with other artist s all over the earth a quilt of woodcuts thanks everyone now i'm really begining to look forward to seeing the prints on paper -Gillyin machias Maine USA ------------------------------ From: Julio.Rodriguez@walgreens.com Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 13:37:19 -0500 Subject: [Baren 14609] Re: Skokie show 05/30/2001 01:37:11 PM Thanks to all for the kinds words regarding the Skokie exhibit. There are more photos coming that show the final insatallations...sorry for the quality of the first group of pictures...they are rather poor and were taken as the exhibit was being hung. Re Gillyin's question of #9....yes all the prints are framed on the same black frames that were used last year for the first show. All of the prints (with a few exceptions) float on a black mat and are either on 11X14 or 16X20 frames. They are hung by a single nail that portrudes into a hole in he back of the frame. Just like I did last year with themed exchange #4 (self-portraits)...I wanted all of #9 on display and as tight grouping....it looks very impressive with this huge wall full of prints...then we you come up close you realize that there is mutual theme. Very good analogy to compare it to a quilt...yes...I like that a lot! I am up to my neck in Youth basebal and a couple of other Baren related issues that I want to share with the group...but hopefully in a day or so I will have the new photos up and the list of all participants/prints... thanks again to everyone for making the show a reality....Julio ------------------------------ From: Sunnffunn@aol.com Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 19:38:35 EDT Subject: [Baren 14610] Re: summer school When I did crafts with my summer sunday school kids my favorite thing was to use wax paper and an iron and shave old crayons between the paper and iron it. we could then build stain glass windows, but i bet there are other things you could do with this. I know it is not exactly printmaing but???? Also I picked up this really fun little book on printing with flowers. You stick the flowers in the ink and press on the images to make a design, sorta like fish painting. You probably already know this one. Kids love to press flowers, I used to have a lath house full of kids in my yard when I was a kid and taught them to press flowers between paper and let them dry and build designs with them. it is a fun outing to gather wild flowers. Even the sturdy dandelion works well. marilynn ------------------------------ From: Sunnffunn@aol.com Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 23:08:32 EDT Subject: [Baren 14611] Re: Baren Digest v15 #1431 On the "Theme" theme Does everyone know what Haiku is? And so we are than illustrating a poem?? ------------------------------ From: "Gregory Robison" Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 11:29:43 -0700 Subject: [Baren 14612] Collaboration idea; warning: long post! One of the many things that intrigue me about David Bull's approach to = the art form which we all practice is his continuing advocacy of = collaborative work in the style, or at least the spirit, of the Ukiyo-e = printmakers. He hasn't succeeded in reviving it, at least not in the = way he originally intended; the few Baren members who have worked in = this way are conspicuous by being exceptional. On the other hand, our custom of themed exchanges is a form of artistic = collaboration. True, it's each artist proceeding independently in more = or less "sosaku hanga" fashion. The common idea or image provides a = connection between the participants, although it isn't visible in any = one print, but only when the whole collection (i.e., the whole themed = exchange) is viewed. Still, as one having curated a themed show based = on a Baren exchange ("Then People, Ten Colours" in Kampala, May 2000), I = can confirm what any of you who have participated in exchanges can also = verify, namely, that it's often a pretty loose form of unity. Many = prints have only a vague connection to the theme, or none (apparently) = at all. More importantly, though, it's a primitive form of = collaboration even at its most successful. Even if every one of the = thirty prints were brilliant interpretations of the theme, they are each = free-standing and independent. You could do a show with all thirty of = them, or with any twenty or even ten. No one would notice that anything = was missing. It's primitive in the sense that an organism with only one = kind of cell is primitive. Or primitive in the way that a piece of = music is primitive if every instrument plays from beginning to end the = same melody, or harmonises in a primitive fashion (on the octave, say). = A more complex collaboration is analogous to a play in which different = actors play different parts, or an orchestra in which various = instruments come in and out. The melodies played by some instruments, = or the soliloquies spoken by some of the actors might have a certain = attractiveness as free-standing performances, but their strength and = meaning is greatly enhanced when they are taken in context, when they = support and are supported by other elements in the whole production. = And, at least in the critical parts, if an actor fails to speak the = required lines or the violins don't come in, the whole effect is = lessened or perhaps even rendered incomprehensible. I would like to propose -- or at least solicit your opinion -- on a kind = of complex collaboration of this second type. In other words, not a = themed show in which each participant works independently, but a themed = show in which a series of prints is created that forms part of a larger = narrative. It is still collaboration at the "show level" and not at the = "production of the print" level. This idea is one of several I am working on for possible development = over the next 12 to 24 months (and not to be confused with a more = conventional show I have been discussing off-list with some Baren = colleagues). The idea is a show of woodblock prints based on the Gospel (i.e., the = four related texts conventionally associated with the names Matthiew, = Mark, Luke and John and which purport to present the life of Jesus). = "Based on" does not mean "depicting;" it means something like "using a = sentence, phrase or verse from the Gospel as the point of departure or = inspiration for a graphic statement in the woodblock/relief medium." In = fact, aside from the sort of minimal strictures that we're all used to = for echanges (e.g., size no larger than, say, oban), the only = requirement would be that each submission be explicitly linked to the = text. Since this is a higher-order collaboration and not a "single cell = organism" type collaboration, I could not simply allow everyone to = select a verse and go to work as we might in a more conventional = exchange. I would have to exercise some of the functions of a = playwright/director and ensure that each of the broad elements of the = narrative is covered. This might involve inviting certain participants = to consider a range of possible verses or passages that might otherwise = be under-represented, etc. Beyond this, however, I would welcome = complete artistic freedom. Works could be abstract or representational; = they could be literal or allegorical; they could use the ancient text = for modern social commentary (remember printmaker James Ensor's series = 'The Entrance of Christ into Brussels' with its barbs at Belgian high = society in 1898?); they could depict details or visually striking = elements rather than attempting to carry along the stream of the = narrative itself; etc. =20 Several things attract me to a project of this type, both as an = artist/printmaker and as an occasional producer of shows: 1. So many artists and printmakers in the Western tradition have treated = subjects from these texts that it would be fun to join them. ("Yeah, = Rembrandt did a 'Descent from the Cross', lemme show you mine...") = Under what other circumstances would we be able to do so? It would be = perfected appropriate for artists unfamiliar with the Gospel or from = traditions for which it is neither a cultural artifact nor a normative = document to participate in this project. 2. There is an almost limitless set of themes and images contained in = the text: desert and green landscapes; seascapes in calm and in storm; = every conceivable human emotion and scheming; teaching and forgiveness; = violence and healing; men, women and children; animals; etc., etc. It = is hard to imagine how any artist would not be able to find something = that fits in with his or her current artistic interests. =20 3. From the point of view of the display of such a collection, there is = the attraction of achieving a natural flow through the gallery that is = not possible with a primitive, theme-only show. Moreover, while we = could illustrate any narrative in this way, this is a text which has the = power to attract attention (although we would not be successful if the = viewer did not leave surprised and convinced that these 'familiar' texts = were in fact largely unknown). 4. There is no reason why certain parts of the text could not be treated = by more than one artist. Again, thinking of the display on the wall, = some elements of the text could receive only passing attention, while = other passages could be presented with a cluster -- an explosion -- of = images, all thickly grouped together. 5. Such a show could even be a travelling one. There are publication = possibilities, too, I would think. Anyone who might be interested in expressing an interest in this project = and discussing more details -- or telling me what a crack pot idea it = is! -- may contact me off-list. This is all very much in the formative = stage, and I would appreciate the input of my Baren colleagues. Yours, Gregory Robison Edinburgh, Scotland ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest v15 #1437 *****************************