Call for Applications:
Printmaking Workshop for Early-Career Scholars
Sponsored by the Association of Print Scholars (APS)
Providence, RI, May 20-21, 2016

Knowledge of printmaking techniques is integral to a scholarly understanding the field. Print enthusiasts frequently find it necessary to “dissect” a print—count the number of layers used in a screenprint, examine the fineness of a line in a woodcut, or guess how many plates were implemented in the printing of a color etching. Despite this inherent focus on process, many scholars have never had the opportunity to make a print themselves due to issues of time, funding, or resources.

The Association of Print Scholars (APS) is pleased to announce a two-day intensive workshop that will provide early-career scholars with a brief introduction to printmaking techniques. The workshop will begin with a kickoff reception on Thursday evening at Cade Tompkins Projects, a gallery that represents contemporary printmakers including Daniel Heyman, Allison Bianco, and Nancy Friese.

Participants will spend the first day focusing on intaglio processes, with a special presentation on engraving by Andrew Raftery, Professor of Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), held at Overpass Projects, a new printshop founded by RISD printmaking MFA alumni. The second day will focus on lithography. The workshop will be led by Brian Shure, Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director in Printmaking at RISD, and a former master printer at Crown Point Press. The number of participants will be limited to ensure a hands-on experience with each demonstration and access to individualized attention.

Who: Graduate students currently enrolled in art history, visual culture, or material culture doctoral programs in the United States or early-career professionals who graduated within the last ten years. Applicants must be members of APS.

Fees: Participants will be responsible for travel expenses to Providence and lodging. Stipends will be offered, by application, to offset these costs for those without institutional support.

Application: To apply, please submit the following documents:

a brief statement (500 words or less) describing your research and how it would be enriched by this workshop
a current CV
one letter of reference (sent directly to info@printscholars.org)
a proposed budget for your expenses (only required if you would like to be considered for a stipend)

Please send your application as a single PDF attachment to info@printscholars.org with the subject line “Providence printmaking workshop.” Applications are due by January 31, 2016. Applicants will be notified by February 15, 2016.

This workshop is sponsored by a generous grant from The Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation.

The Association of Print Scholars (APS) is pleased to announce a symposium to support new critical ideas and research about printmaking. The event will occur on November 7, 2015 at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY) during Print Week in New York, which includes major events such as the IFPDA Print Fair, the E/AB Fair and more. We invite two types of proposals:

- 20-minute papers for a scholarly panel that respond to the CFP (see below) entitled “Method, Material and Meaning: Technical Art History and the Study of Prints”
- 5-minute presentations for the Graduate Student Lightning Round. Proposed papers should come from current graduate students at the dissertation stage.

Interested participants are invited to submit an abstract of no more than 500 words along with a CV or brief biographical statement by August 15 to symposium@printscholars.org. Please indicate in the subject line which type of paper (scholarly session or lightning round) you are proposing and apply to only one session type. Non-members may submit abstracts, but presenters must be APS members by the time of the symposium.

Method, Material, and Meaning: Technical Art History and the Study of Prints

Technical art history, an interdisciplinary methodology with growing popularity among scholars, curators, and conservators, draws connections between an object’s making and its interpretation. The application of technical art history to the study of prints is particularly fruitful as printmakers often draw upon diverse and complex techniques in order to generate imagery. From the sixteenth-century engravings of Hendrik Goltzius, who skillfully imitated other media, to the prints of contemporary artist Kiki Smith, who produces fleshy bodies on thin, skin-like Gampi paper, printmakers throughout history have engaged a variety of processes and materials in order to elicit particular ideas, emotions, or interactions. The selection of technique, matrix, ink, varnish or support may have a profound effect on the final product and its meaning.

This conference seeks to investigate the relationship between specific technical choices made by printmakers, printers, or publishers in order to rethink more broadly the relationship between process, material and meaning in the graphic arts. We seek papers that focus on a wide range of chronological periods and geographic locations in order to highlight overarching methodological issues.

Questions to consider:
- How can technical analysis aid in understanding artists’ strategic decisions, including their use of printmaking within a larger multimedia practice?
- What can conservation science tell us about the life and contemporary importance of a print?
- How has print scholarship grown beyond connoisseurship, towards a more holistic account of engagement with the viewer?
- How does the transfer of information from the matrix to the receiving surface affect the resulting imagery and its significance?

The symposium is supported with a grant from the IFPDA Foundation.

APS invites submissions for its 1 1/2 hour professional session at the 2016 College Art Association Annual Conference, which will take place February 3-6, 2016 in Washington, DC.

We welcome proposals on any aspect of the history, theory, or practice of printmaking from any chronological or geographic category. Preference will be given to proposals that call for a wide array of papers covering printmaking's rich history.

Details:

Individual or co-chaired sessions are welcome
Proposals should include a title for and a short description of the session (no more than 500 words)
Chairs and co-chairs must include CVs with submission
Chairs and co-chairs must be active members of CAA and APS at the time of the annual conference.

Deadline for proposals: May 1, 2015

To ask questions or submit a proposal, please email info@printscholars.org.