Anchor Graphics
@ Columbia College Chicago
VOLUMEV O1L UNO.
1O .faLL
ME 1 N
2 S p r i 2006
ng 2007
contents
our mission
Anchor Graphics @ Columbia College Chicago is a not-for-profit printshop that
brings together, under professional guidance, a diverse community of youth,
emerging and established artists, and the public to advance the fine art of
printmaking by integrating education with the creation of prints.
recent
events
2 letter from the director
david jones
4 talking toons: an interview with chris sperandio
james iannaccone
6 doc art
james iannaccone
8 the zine: looking back into tomorrow
craig jobson
10 upcoming programs
Grand Re-Opening
On September 14, 2006, Anchor Graphics had
it’s official re-opening party with food, drinks,
printmaking demonstrations and a ribbon cutting
ceremony. A very big thank you goes out to the
approximately 200 people who attended and
made this event a big success.
“Group Printmaking Show”
at the Beverly Art Center
August 25 – September 24, 2006. Visitors
got a chance to explore the world of
contemporary printmaking at this exhibition
co-curated by the Beverly Art Center and Anchor
Graphics. The exhibit featured dozens of artists
from across the country working in a variety of
print based media.
“Ink On Paper” at A Room With A View
March 15 – April 15, 2007. This exhibit,
curated by Anchor Graphics, featured the work
of six contemporary Chicago printmakers. The
works included represented the diversity and
depth found within the medium today, including
more traditional styles like woodcut portraits
and those incorporating contemporary
technologies, like digitally manipulated imagery
and inkjet printing.
Lectures on DVD
Anchor’s lecture series returned with six
lectures running September 2006 – April
2007. Presented by curators, artists and art
historians, the lectures focused on many facets
of printmaking’s history and practice. All were
video taped and are available on DVD. Lecturers
included Debora Wood from the Mary and
Leigh Block Museum, Gill Saunders from the
Victoria and Albert Museum, Steve Walters from
Screwball Press, John Cisco from Trillium Digital
Imaging, Susan Weininger from Roosevelt
University, and from the Milwaukee Art Museum,
Lisa Hostetler and Mary Weaver Chapin.
Funding
Funding for Anchor Graphics is provided in part by contributions from individuals, the Illinois Arts Council-A State Agency, the
MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, the Terra Foundation
Photos by Nolan Wells
Photo by James Iannaccone
Art Deck
Produced in collaboration with Jet Litho and
Columbia College’s Art + Design Department,
this deck of playing cards features artwork
created by 53 of Art + Design’s faculty and
staff. Each artist’s work was reproduced as the
face of the card they were assigned. Contact
Anchor Graphics for information on how to
acquire a deck.
for American Art, the Oppenheimer Family Foundation, the Packaging Corporation of America, Target, and Jet Lithocolor.
If you would like to make a donation to Anchor Graphics please contact us at 312-344-6864 or anchorgraphics@colum.edu.
On The cover: Woodcut print in the making by Dr. Eric Avery. Photo by James Iannaccone
Class Scholarships
Anchor Graphics is now offering scholarships to
all of its classes and workshops. Scholarships
will cover full tuition, however students will
still be required to supply their own plates
and paper. If you would like to apply for a
scholarship please email us a brief statement
describing which class/workshop you would
like to take, why you would like to receive a
scholarship, and any previous art/printmaking
experience.
Photo by James Iannaccone
ANCHOR GRAPHICS
from the Director
Greetings everyone,
Letter
2
I just returned from Kansas City where I attended the 35th annual Southern Graphics Council conference. It was an amazing event with printmakers from all over the US and other countries gathering
together to celebrate the accomplishments of artists, printmakers, educators and lovers of the
print. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a vast quantity of prints in one place. Along with the copious
amount of artists exhibiting, Anchor Graphics had prints on display at a publisher’s table during the
conference’s open portfolio sessions. It was really gratifying to have people respond so positively
to our work. But perhaps the biggest news to come out of the conference for us is that Columbia
College Chicago has been selected to host the 37th SGC conference in March of 2009. Stay tuned
for more information on this exciting event, which will bring approximately 750 printmakers to
Chicago.
Meanwhile the shop has been humming with activity. We recently finished editioning three prints
by Dr. Eric Avery and have begun work on our next publishing project with Laurie Hogin. She is currently working on several multi-color etchings. Our lecture series, generously funded by the Terra
Foundation for American Art, has been a smashing success with attendance at each lecture near
capacity. Our Artist-In-Residence program is off to a great start with Chris Sperandio already having
completed two silkscreens and with Richard Repasky currently working on a series of lithographs.
Thanks to the generous funding of the Illinois Arts Council we have been able to award our residents a substantial honorarium in addition to access to our facilities. Our adult classes are bringing
in some new faces along with familiar friends and our free high school classes continue to attract
some truly talented young people.
We are also working on strategies to expand our audience through new marketing initiatives. You’ll
notice that we are changing the format of our newsletter a bit as part of this effort. In addition to
recent events and up coming programs, we are now including articles and interviews by and about
the artists participating in our programs. We see this as a marketing opportunity that falls in line
with our educational mission. It is our hope that the inclusion of this material will help disseminate
information on artists as well as on the diversity of artistic practices that make up the print medium.
This also gives the reader a chance to see work that he/she might otherwise not come across. This
newsletter is a first step towards that goal and we hope to provide even more in-depth articles in
future issues. This upgrade along with our soon to be launched new website has been made possible by a grant from the Chicago Community Trust’s “Smart Growth” program.
As we pass the one-year mark as part of Columbia College Chicago, you can see that we are settling
in to our new home very nicely. We all feel very fortunate to be working with the wonderful faculty
and staff of Columbia and to be a part of Chicago’s fantastic arts community. Thanks again for your
wonderful support and, as always, please drop in should you find yourself in the neighborhood.
37th Annual
Southern Graphics Council
Conference
hosted by Columbia College Chicago and Anchor Graphics
Sincerely,
David Jones
Executive Director
March 2009
COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO
5
You have a background in printmaking. Can you speak about that and
what it is about the multiple in its various forms that had appeal for
you back then and continues to have appeal for you now?
The printshop is an interesting place because it is also a place where a
lot of discussion happens. I have a BFA in printmaking from West Virginia
University, where I studied under Carmon Colangelo. My early experience
in the print shop was this discursive experience. For the most part
printmakers like to share their secrets and their tricks and techniques.
Also the multiple has a long history of having a political connotation that
defies the market place. It is both the success and failure of printmaking
that it is much more democratic than painting, for example, where you
have a unique object that people fight each other for. The print is just as
important as an object but there are lots of them. So nobody can really
corner the market on the commodity. All that had a strong influence on
an interview with artist-in-residence chris sperandio
talkingtoons
Conducted by James Iannaccone
You are best knowN for your work with the Kartoon Kings. can you
me. Then when I went to graduate school, I was inundated with a lot of
talk a little bit about the Kartoon Kings, how it got started and
critical theory and at the time there was a lot of discussion around the
some of the projects you’ve been working on?
commodification of art, which is kind of an oxymoron because art has
The Kartoon Kings is the name of our website. It is also the imprint that
we use on the comic books that we make. I collaborate with a British
What is the project you’re working on right now as part of Anchor
artist named Simon Grennan. He lives in the UK, I live in the States and
Graphics’ Artist-In-Residence program?
we’ve probably made about 20 comic books in the last 10 years. Some
Essentially we are making prints of t-shirts that we would like to wear, but
of these books have been co-published with Fantagraphics Books. One
we are not making t-shirts. We’re making images of shirts. By making im-
was co-published with DC Comics. But for the last 5 years we’ve been
ages of t-shirts we’re sort of pushing things back into the fictional realm.
using the Kartoon Kings imprint exclusively. The projects are typically
It’s been 20 years since I’ve picked up a roller or squeegee. Our work has
commissioned by museums and art centers both in the US and in the UK.
been offset almost exclusively, but this year I started to reconnect with
We get other people to tell us their stories and then we turn the stories
print. I don’t have a good reason to have ignored the hand made multiple.
into comics. The books are then distributed. Some times they are sold,
So the residency here at Anchor is really to reconnect with making things
some times they are given away. The editions can be quite large. We’ve
in a studio situation. The work we’re making here is not really connected
produced one book that was an edition of 50,000. So, really the type of
to another audience. It’s more about taking our drawings and translat-
project that we are doing determines how the books are distributed.
ing them into screen prints and seeing what happens. It is important to
What is the appeal of the comic book and why have you chosen
research things. Just sort of do it and see what happens. So it’s a great
it as a medium in which to work?
learning opportunity for me, and a big experiment. This visit to Anchor is
Our original impulse was to make artwork that would sit outside of the
gallery context. We both tend to find the gallery to be boring and stale.
purely about connecting with a process and connecting with an image and
seeing what happens.
Our interest in art is also an interest in demographics. So, after sev-
What’s next for the Kartoon Kings? Do you have any other projects
eral years of doing various projects we hit on the idea of using comics
lined up?
because it is a very collaborative medium. It’s traditionally collaborative,
Too many to talk about. We have a monograph of our work coming out in
where one person will write a story, another person will draw the story,
September published by West Virginia University Press. We’ve got two new
another person will edit the story. It was a great way for us to collaborate
comic books that are coming out in the next few months produced with
with other people where there are very clearly defined roles and everyone
young people in Wales. Both of those books are about contemporary art.
is happy with the result.
There is this television series, “Artstar,” that I created and am execu-
What it is about the collaborative process that you like?
tive producer of, and we are just getting geared up to shoot the second
Because we are collaborating, the work starts as discussion and it’s
Photos by James Iannaccone
always been a commodity. But at least with print the circle is much wider.
much more interesting for me. I get lonely when I’m in the studio by myself. I second-guess myself when I’m trying to make studio art. So starting
a work as a conversation is exciting. Since Grennan is in the UK and I’m
here, we often divide the labor, but the work starts as this discussion.
season. And a bunch of other stuff. I’m exhausted.
The first part of Chris Sperandio’s residency at Anchor Graphics took place the week
of March 12. He created a series of works from imagery he and Simon Grennan created, printed with the assistance of Mathew Carlson and Columbia College students.
The second part of Chris’s residency will be in September. Public reception will be
As we pick up steam with a project and start to involve other people the
held at that time. For more information on the Kartoon Kings take a look at their
discussion spreads and becomes wider and richer.
website, www.kartoonkings.com.
doc
art
6
ANCHOR GRAPHICS
by James Iannaccone
For over thirty years Dr. Eric Avery has been making art with social content that has paralleled
the work he has been doing as a physician and psychiatrist. His cross media projects often
manifest themselves on various levels incorporating the object through printmaking as well as
pushing the boundaries of performance art. Exploring issues of human rights abuses, infectious
diseases, sexuality and the social and psychological responses they elicit, Dr. Avery’s art is
thoroughly activist in spirit.
In 2005 Dr. Avery set up a Hepatitis C clinic within the galleries of the
tangible impact on peoples’ lives through education and behavior modifi-
Corcoran in Washington, D.C. Titled “Liver Die”, the clinic was comprised
cation. By surrounding participating patients with prints and paintings as
of three paper walls each made from three, 6’ x 9’ linoleum block prints
well as distributing the hand printed and bound informational pamphlets
showing the stages of liver damage caused by Hepatitis C. The front of
that often accompany his actions, Dr. Avery is bringing together art and
the structure, containing an examining table, chairs and a desk, was left
medicine. He is adding a humanistic element to medical treatment, bring-
open so that visitors could view the clinic in action. During the course of
ing it out of the cold sterility of the hospital while attempting to treat the
the project a physician and a nurse provided treatment to patients with
mind and spirit along with the body.
Hepatitis, a Hepatitis support group meeting was held, and blood tests
were given for the virus.
The Corcoran exhibit was not the first time Dr. Avery put the practice of
Recently, Dr. Avery returned to more traditional forms of printmaking
while working with Anchor Graphics on our latest publishing projects. Dr.
Avery was in the shop from November 27th through December 2nd, 2006,
medicine within an art context. In 1994 at the Mary Ryan Gallery in New
working on three new prints combining woodcuts and litho plates. Two of
York, Dr. Avery tested artists, collectors, curators, and the gallery’s staff
the prints, “The Good Old Days” and “SARS Ward,” form a diptych that
for HIV as part of “Healing before Art: Public HIV Testing.” Set within an
explores the dangers doctors face in attempting to heal patients with
installation of healthy blood cell paintings on the walls and infected blood
unknown diseases or by using experimental treatments. The third, “HIV
cells suspended from the ceiling, the event took participants through each
Prisoner Woman’s Story,” illustrates the troubled life and cycle of violence
step of the process including pretest counseling and blood drawing, all in
faced by many victims of child abuse and was inspired by a recent visit
front of an audience. Question and answer sessions followed the testing
with inmates at a women’s prison.
as well as a number of statements from doctors concerning HIV and AIDS.
All test results remained confidential.
Such public displays of normally very private health screenings are
Eric Avery is currently the Director of HIV Psychiatric Services and
an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry for the University of Texas
Medical Branch at Galveston. His art can be found in the permanent col-
attempts to demystify and normalize the processes, to help break down
lections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts
the social stigma associated with these diseases, and to ultimately get
in Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, the
more people to maintain and monitor their health through such tests.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Walker Art Center, and the Fogg Art
In addition, Dr. Avery’s “art/medicine actions,” as he likes to call them,
Museum among others.
cross many divides. Not just the divides separating artistic media but also
the much greater divides separating medicine from art and art from life.
By incorporating individuals taking part in real medical screenings into
a performance art context, Dr. Avery is showing how art can have a very
From The Top:
SARS Ward
woodcut & hand coloring
21” x 30”
2006-07
HIV Prisoner Woman’s Story
woodcut & 7 color lithograph
15” x 37”
2006-07
For more information on Dr. Avery you can visit his website at www.docart.com. For
more information on purchasing “HIV Prisoner Woman’s Story”, “The Good Old Days”
or “SARS Ward” please contact Anchor Graphics.
The Good Old Days
woodcut & hand coloring
21” x 30”
2006-07
8
ANCHOR GRAPHICS
COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO
9
the zine:
looking back into
tomorrow
by Craig Jobson
The zine has its origins in protest and subversiveness. It’s a nonconformist way of combining text and
image as a means of satirizing a person or topic. Self-published, it usually exists outside of the network
of commerce that attempts to define social mores.
We can trace the most recent iteration of zines
VAN Horn, 2003
Vacca, 2003
remarked that these collections have a dispro-
Generation mimeographed poetry - though some
next wave of printed graphic communications,
portionate number of the male gender engaged
historians recognize zines being produced in
put this project within reach of our aspirations.
in activities that call into question their ability
America as early as Ben Franklin. As a distinct
Digital printing is less costly than offset printing
to exercise sound judgment. I can only reflect
form, zines originated in the 1930’s in the
for small runs, yet nearly the same quality. And
that there must be countless women who, in
United States when science fiction fans self-pub-
surprisingly, it is less expensive than using the
the dark of night, heave bricks high into the
lished and traded their own stories. “The term
color printers in our own Graphics Lab.
night’s air only to have them fall on their heads;
of ‘fan magazine’ and later on was shortened to
‘zine.’ ” (Elke Zobl)
The publications are often characterized
sloppy art to suggest authenticity
own publication needs – each designer would
receive a copy of the publication that included
art because it’s expedient for non-artists,
of the class.
Neither magazines nor comic books, the
The publications are often characterized by
short-run catalogues and brochures, ideal for our
his/her own work along with the work of the rest
sophisticated.
DiDION, 2004
Digital printing was specifically designed for
by sloppy art to suggest authenticity, collage
rants and detournement art for the politically
moreno, 2003
Discerning reviewers of these stories
plateless half tones using stacastic dots), the
‘fanzine’ became recognized as the abbreviation
Grosberg, 2003
At the same time, digital printing, (waterless,
back through DaDA, Fluxus, mail art and Beat
From Spring of 2003 until Fall of 2004 my
two Publication Design Classes at Columbia
College did seven different zines. The members
rob banks under the guise of being clergy; sit
in bath tubs with hundreds of rattlesnakes; or
even hide bullets for their registered hand guns
in the oven before they leave for a vacation – we
simply don’t hear about them!
The results of our wonderful selection of totally true, guaranteed real tales were named by
the students differently each semester: Strange
Brew, Off the Wall, World Wide Weird, Avant
Garden, Out of Order, Dreams Carnival and
Columbia Zines were a collection of visual sto-
of two Publication Design classes were asked
ries that shared a theme with or without any
to choose an impossible-to-believe true story
text. The project, starting in the Spring 2004,
compiled by Fiction Writing Department student
was inspired by countless computer screens
editors from national newspapers - stories filled
of excellent non-class projects I had observed
with irony, humor, incredulity and the bizarre
over the past five years in the Columbia College
foibles of being human. Next they were required
Chicago Graphics Lab. The thought of providing
to illustrate their chosen story using one of ten
Craig Jobson, Professor of Art & Design at Columbia
a creative space, separate from an exhibition
different techniques explored over a three-week
College Chicago, will be presenting a lecture on the
center, for these wonderful visual musings
period in class and lay out the story with visu-
zine’s history and culture along with discussing his own
began to consume all my spare time. When
als over a two-page spread. The class worked
zines as part of our 2007-08 lecture series that will
the Fiction Writing Department offered editorial
with line art, photo illustration, clay models,
starts in September. Craig Jobson’s lecture date is to be
assistance, the effort to pool a series of color
stitchery, manipulated photographs, collage,
announced.
graphic stories into one publication proved to be
50’s detournement, toy animation and mosaic.
irresistible, but initially, financially outside the
An operative principle was challenged - design-
scope of a class project.
ers are not necessarily illustrators. But in the
pages of the zine they showed they were able to
produce images that can engage a reader and
tell a story.
Ferschmuckled. I called the Zine an adventure in
real-world publishing where the designer shapes
the content as well as generates the visuals
that engage the reader in their own right.
Anchor Graphics
@ Columbia College Chicago
623 S. Wabash Ave., 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60605
312-344-6864
anchorgraphics@colum.edu
upcoming programs
www.colum.edu/anchorgraphics
Bridge Art Fair
Leonard Lehrer Exhibition
Lectures
April 26–30
Anchor will be exhibiting in booth number 43 at the
Bridge Art Fair next to the Merchandise Mart at 350
West Mart Center, 12th floor. Work by artists participating in our various programs will be on display
including a number of our published prints.
June 21–July 28
Anchor will be curating an exhibition of prints and
drawings by Leonard Lehrer at the A+D Gallery. The
exhibit will be on display June 21–July 28 and will
feature large-scale digital collages along with more
traditional lithographs and study drawings for both.
Anchor’s 2007-08 lecture series will begin in
September featuring talks by Craig Jobson, Joby
Patterson, Kymberly Pinder, Tim Dooley & Aaron
Wilson, Esther Sparks, and a sixth to be announced.
Cyanotype Workshop
Solarplate Etching Demo & Workshop
May 26 & 27, 1–5pm
This workshop will cover the basics of cyanotype
printing, and explore the possibilities of the medium.
Taught by Lou Joseph, this workshop will include
instruction on mixing chemicals and application
techniques, learning how to set this process up in
your home or studio, as well as a historical overview
of the process.
Demo: June 28 / Workshop: June 29–July 1
Solarplate etching is a recent alternative etching process that uses sunlight and water instead of the traditional acids and grounds. Dan Welden, master printmaker and developer of the process, will demonstrate
and conduct a workshop on this innovative approach
that uses a photopolymer to produce spontaneous
and easy prints with museum quality results.
Monoprint Workshop
Residencies
June 23 & 24, 1–5pm
Due to overwhelming popular demand we are bringing
you another monoprint workshop. Micah Bornstein will
once again demonstrate printmaking through the combination of monoprint and handmade stencils. Focus
will be on the versatility of stencils and their use as a
means to a more immediate product that at times can
bypass the press completely.
Our 2007 Artists-In-Residence will be working throughout the summer. We will be hosting public receptions
for each artist during their residencies, providing you
with an opportunity to meet these terrific printmakers.
A Schedule of residencies is listed below:
> Richard Repasky: April 9–21
> Joe Immen: May 7–25
> Lenore Thomas & Justin Strom: May 29–June 15
> Lauren Adleman: June 18–29 & July 5–12
> Tim Dooley & Aaron Wilson: July 16–30
> Lydia Diemer: August 1–19
Publishing Projects
We are currently working on publishing a series of
four, multicolor lithographs by Margo Humphrey that
pay tribute to jazz musician Rassan Roland Kirk. In
addition we are working on a series of multicolor etchings with Laurie Hogin. Both of these projects should
be finished later this year.
Southern Graphics Council Conference
March 2009
Columbia College Chicago and Anchor Graphics will be
hosting the Southern Graphics Council’s annual printmaking conference in 2009 so get ready for four days
of exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, lectures
and round table discussions all focusing on the diversity of the print medium.