PUBLIC/PRIVATE
Project Prompt
This project asks you to think of book arts and letterpress printing in the context of contemporary art. As stated in their curatorial essay for the exhibit Fresh Impressions: Letterpress Printing in Contemporary Art, Inge Bruggeman and Heather Watkins describe that “letterpress printing ‘speaks’ both intimately and publicly. It can suggest gentle, private thoughts in tones that are subtle and hushed just as well as command attention and action— when needed—shouting boldly in color and form.”
Book arts also lends itself to intimacy when viewed in the form of the book or letter, which can suggest the privacy of a diary, for example. Or made very public when created into large editions or multiples that can be distributed widely, perhaps in some kind of socially engaged project.
Find some way of expressing either or both of these qualities (intimate and/or public) in a project. You may combine with other media, it could have an online component, could be part of a larger installation, etc.
Project Guidelines
Grading
40 points total
10 Conceptual Development
10 Craftsmanship & Quality of Printing
10 Composition & Design
10 Completeness, Resolution of Work
Timeline
February 12th: Discuss ideas for project, sketches
February 26th: In-Progress Critique
March 12th: Critique
This project asks you to think of book arts and letterpress printing in the context of contemporary art. As stated in their curatorial essay for the exhibit Fresh Impressions: Letterpress Printing in Contemporary Art, Inge Bruggeman and Heather Watkins describe that “letterpress printing ‘speaks’ both intimately and publicly. It can suggest gentle, private thoughts in tones that are subtle and hushed just as well as command attention and action— when needed—shouting boldly in color and form.”
Book arts also lends itself to intimacy when viewed in the form of the book or letter, which can suggest the privacy of a diary, for example. Or made very public when created into large editions or multiples that can be distributed widely, perhaps in some kind of socially engaged project.
Find some way of expressing either or both of these qualities (intimate and/or public) in a project. You may combine with other media, it could have an online component, could be part of a larger installation, etc.
Project Guidelines
- Start conceptually, brainstorming ideas about how you may interpret the ideas of ‘public/private’ in your work.
- Narrow it down to one or two ideas and develop a sketch and/or a dummy
- Take comments into consideration, making final adjustments
- Decide how you are going to create it (paper, printing methods, etc.)
Grading
40 points total
10 Conceptual Development
10 Craftsmanship & Quality of Printing
10 Composition & Design
10 Completeness, Resolution of Work
Timeline
February 12th: Discuss ideas for project, sketches
February 26th: In-Progress Critique
March 12th: Critique