The following review of the Just Press Print exhibition at the Northern Print Gallery is by Sara Ogilvie, an artist, illustrator and Senior Lecturer in Imagemaking within Graphic Design, Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.
Most often an exhibition consists of marveling
at polished final outcomes. Just Press Print, curated by Dr Paul Laidler
from The
Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) at University of the West of England, is
an invitation to explore beyond this and get under the skin of the print
process in its many forms.
CFPR is renowned for its cutting edge
print facilities so it is no surprise to see an eclectic range of published
prints on display. These recent prints have evolved from CFPR collaborations
with a carefully selected group of artists. From mind bending vectors of
flaming ice creams to 3D polymer Lichtenstein-esque knuckledusters each project
vies for your attention to uncover how it came to be.
Layers of paper sketches, notes and
test proofs bundled in bulldog clips hang informally from the walls. Rifle
through these pages and you can share in the artist and printer exchange;
eavesdrop on dialogue, decision-making and the ups and downs of the creative
process that unfurls. It is this factor that pulls the diversity of artists
together in this show and hooks the viewer into the work.
Designer Sebastian Schramm’s brief
email asking, ‘Don’t you want to sell my prints?’ is a forthright invite which
lead to a long distance collaboration between Schramm in Germany and Paul
Laidler in the UK. The exchange is at times rapid fire, bouncing feedback on
scale and colour, correcting digital photographic images of porcelain figurines
augmented with unexpected head balloons in an exploration or alienation and
individual behavior. The final edition of large saturated inkjets is vivid, striking
and unsettling in equal measure.
Like Schramm each exhibiting artist opens
the doors to their process and it is this welcoming, inclusive quality that is so
refreshing. In Paul Coldwell’s accompanying visual chronicle we see more of the
artist in the throws of the project. Scrawled sketchbook pages, noting the
music playing in the studio and a packet of Trebor mints stray into shot. With
a jaunty thumbs up over the printing press the atmosphere suggests a more easy
going tempo in comparison to Schramm’s.
Coldwell’s outcome, ‘Lines and Branches’, shows two relief prints taken from laser cut MDF, which are also on
display, depicting treetops coarsely treated with exaggerated halftone dots. Small
personal artifacts are depicted such as letters, kirby grips and combs, items that
keep strands together, separate or suggest lines of correspondence all related
to family trees.
There are some fine examples of 3D
printing on display. Katie Davies and Peter Walters have created ’Vela’ (2011)
an elegant ghostlike form sitting quietly on its shelf. Inspired by remote
constellations it is a transformation of audio data from a pulsar star into a
3D rapid prototype. In contrast to this is Brendan Reid’s Manta Ray, a 3D technicolour
prototype with a rhythm of rainbow stripes shouting for attention.
Other intriguing colour concepts of
note are Arthur Buxton’s obsessive digital data visualisations of British Vogue covers from 1981-2011. Like scrambled TV test cards predominant and common
colours come to the fore in ordered bars. The results show that trend colour preferences
have lightened in tone over the last 30 years.
This show undoubtedly displays the
forward thinking ethos of CFPR in relation to digital technologies however it
is encouraging to see everything in the mix; traditional, digital and 3D
technologies are interwoven here.
It successfully spotlights
how specialist guidance and liaison can help artists discover and ‘make’ in new
ways, leading to unexpected print territories and possibilities. In his PhD
curator, artist and CFPR printer Paul Laidler has explored whether the role of
Master printer is still relevant in todays technological democratisation. This
exhibition firmly suggests it is.
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