The RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History invites MA-students, PhD-students, art historians, conservators, and researchers to attend the seminar Rembrandt's European Papers on the theory of Computer-Assisted Classification of Watermarks and Chain Line Patterns for Moldmate Identification.

Beginning with assertions about the similarity of paper sold in the same batch, assumptions about the purchase and use of paper by Rembrandt's studio, and claims about the retention of a sheet of paper's physical dimensions during an existence over hundreds of years including decay and preservation, Rembrandt scholars have devised a strategy for estimating the production date of the various impressions of Rembrandt's prints that relies on matching watermarks and chain line patterns in their antique laid paper supports made in Europe.

The basic premise is that the unique pair of watermarks in a pair of molds used in making European paper in the 17th century was only purchased for Rembrandt's use in one sale and employed in one contiguous time interval. Thus, sheets of paper identified as made on the same pair of twin molds as evidenced by matching watermarks and surrounding chain line patterns should all have the same year (plus or minus one) of creation. This provides a chronology offering valuable insights into Rembrandt's artistic development and production patterns.

Professor C. Richard Johnson Jr.

This seminar is organized on the occasion of the visit of the RKD Visiting Fellow in Computational Art History, Professor C. Richard Johnson Jr. (Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Cornell Tech, New York City).

Program
This 2-day short course offers an introduction to computer-assisted classification of watermarks revealed by radiographic imaging. The course is divided into 4 segments of one and a half hours each. Each segment will include lectures and training exercises.

The technical concept of a decision tree (similar to the parlor game of 20 Questions) is embedded in an interactive interrogatory relying on human responses to a series of Yes/No questions, as described in: A. C. Weislogel, C. R. Johnson, Jr., et al., “Decision Trees and Fruitful Collaborations: The Watermark Identication in Rembrandt's Etchings (WIRE) Project at Cornell" in: Lines of Inquiry: Learning from Rembrandt's Etchings, Ithaca [NY] 2017, pp. 32-57.

The underlying decision tree concept has broad utility in image classification of a variety of maker marks found in the supports of art works, including, for example, panel maker marks and guild brands. This short course will prepare the students to be sophisticated users of this emerging technology and potentially to pioneer its use in other cultural heritage applications.

Wednesday 24 October
13:00-14:30 Session 1: Converting identified watermarks into chronology of Rembrandt’s impressions
14:30-15:00 Coffee Break
15:00-16:30 Session 2: Types, variants, sub-variants, and twins

Thursday 25 October
13:00-14:30 Session 3: Scale-invariant features, decision trees, and decision tables
14:30-15:00 Coffee Break
15:00-16:30 Session 4: Watermarks in drawings by Rembrandt and his pupils

Friday 26 October
16:00-17:00 RKD Public Lecture: Prof. Rick Jonson, Rembrandt's European Papers: Computer-Assisted Classification of Watermarks and Chainline Patterns for Moldmate Identification
17:00-18:00 Drinks

Apply
This seminar is free of charge; coffee, drinks and Public Lecture are included. To apply for the seminar, please send a motivation letter (max ½ A4) and your Curriculum Vitae to Sabine Craft-Giepmans (craft@rkd.nl). Deadline for submission is 15 October 2018. After your submission we will contact you soonest to inform you on your admission to the seminar. The number of attendants is limited to 20. Bringing your own laptop with internet connection is recommended. The spoken language will be English.

For more information, please click on the 'External Link' below.

In this workshop at the Harvard Art Museums, participants will explore Théodore Géricault’s use of lithography with Christina Taylor, printmaker and assistant paper conservator, and Cassandra Albinson, the Margaret S. Winthrop Curator of European Art. Following an introduction to traditional and alternative lithographic processes and a close look at Géricault’s rare, surviving “stone paper” print matrix in the galleries, the group will engage in a discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of this experimental technique and about Géricault’s commitment to artistic innovation. Workshop attendees will then join Taylor in the Materials Lab to create their own prints using an alternative lithographic process.

This workshop will take place in the Materials Lab, Lower Level.

$15 materials fee. Registration is required and space is limited. Materials fee must be paid to confirm registration. Please email am_register@harvard.edu, stop by the museums’ admissions desk, or call 617-495-1440 to register. Minimum age of 14.

Heidelberg Dissertation Workshops and European-U.K. Research Travel Stipends (Workshop Year 1: July 21 - August 10, 2019)

Heidelberg University, Institute for East Asian Art History announces dissertation workshops for graduate students in the fields of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art History, with the goal of expanding the opportunities of the next generation of Chinese and Japanese art history scholars — both through access to international resources and by concentrating on skills to strengthen written argumentation and cross-cultural communication.

15 annual selected Ph.D. candidates will have the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Europe and the U.K. The program will be divided into 3 parts:
1) participants will receive dissertation guidance and feedback on a presentation and a chapter from an international team of professors during a 5 days intensive workshop;
2) during the next 12 days, doctoral candidates will visit major collections of their own choosing based on dissertation research needs (itinerary and appointments organized in advance of workshop);
3) in the final 2 days, participants will return to Heidelberg to discuss their successes and challenges in using European resources, how their goals may have altered, and next steps.

Program Directors: Professors Sarah E. Fraser and Lothar Ledderose, Heidelberg University.

During the first year, the workshop will focus on painting, photography, and calligraphy under the guidance of Professors Craig Clunas (Oxford), Yukio Lippit (Harvard), Shane McCausland (University of London, SOAS), Timon Screech (University of London, SOAS), in addition to Ledderose, Fraser, and Prof. Melanie Trede (Heidelberg).

Graduate Participants will receive travel stipends to conduct research between Workshop Parts I and II. Roundtrip travel to Germany, housing and workshop meals also provided. Supported by generous funding by The Getty Foundation, Connecting Art Histories Program.

Project schedule details:
Arrival day: July 21, 2019.
Workshop Part I: July 22-July 26
Participant Research-Individual Travel in Europe and U.K.: July 27-August 7, 2019
Workshop Part II: August 8-10, 2019 (participants share reports on archival and museum research)
Departure day: August 10, 2019.

Participants are required to be in attendance for the entire period; it is not possible to attend only portions.

Application deadline for Workshop I: November 1, 2018, midnight (Frankfurt time):

Please include the following materials as one, complete PDF file with applicant’s name at the top of every page and send to the Sekretariat of the Institute for East Asian Art History at the following email address:
applications-iko@zo.uni-heidelberg.de.

- Statement of Interest (1-2 page) [explain how this program will aid in the completion of your dissertation and include the following information]: a) name of dissertation advisor(s); b) date advanced to candidacy; and c) whether you have participated in or plan to attend other dissertation workshops in 2017-2019;
- Research travel plan during this dissertation workshop (travel period: July 27-August 7, 2019): include a list of objects and the collections in which they are held in Europe and the U.K. (ca. 20 items, 1-3 pages, 12 point);
- C.V. (2-3 pages);
- Overview of dissertation chapters (3-5 pages, double-spaced, 12-point, additional materials: images and bibliography for a total of 7-9 pages)
- Dissertation Table of Contents (1-2 pages, double-spaced, 12 point)

Selected participants should be prepared to submit a dissertation chapter by March 1, 2019 (25-page polished excerpt from a dissertation chapter and up to additional 15 pages of images and bibliography, for a total of 40 pages). It is anticipated that applicants will have at least 50-70 pages of dissertation completed by the beginning of the July 2019 workshop.

Selection will be announced by January 15, 2019. Travel Visa Assistance and guidance for research travel will be provided.

Guest Teacher: April Vollmer

Mokuhanga means woodcut printing in Japanese, hanga is printmaking and moku is wood. The Japanese term ukiyo-e can be roughly translated as ‘pictures of the floating world’ and refers to prints, paintings, books and other images from the Edo period (1603-1868). Ukiyo-e woodcut prints, such as Hiroshige’s series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road, were initiated by a publisher who hired the artist, carvers and printers from separate small shops and coordinated their work to make popular prints for sale.

Make collagraph plates that have rich velvety tones. Carborundum creates dramatic intaglio printed images. Throw in wood glue to add light areas and make a series of experimental prints. Combine this plate making technique with viscosity inking and chine collee for a weekend of rich colour and texture.

Cost £160 to include all materials

Bisymmetry images are everywhere. Aesthetically pleasing proportionality with balance that reflects beauty and perfection. We look at them and interact with the familiar harmonious compositions everyday. At this workshop, we are going to explore and make many symmetric compositions through copper Intaglio process through print folding transfer on Japanese paper and collages.

Program

Day One:

We will make intaglio plate with copper plate 30cmm x 22cm

Hard Ground line Etching with Ferric Chloride

Day Two:

Print on Kitakata Gampi paper

Day three:

Reground the plate and draw more then etch the plate again

Day Four:

Print on Kitakata Gampi paper

Day Five:

Collage the printed Gampi paper on white rag paper equivalent to (Rives BFK white 250gsm) Stretched on a plywood board with gum tape.

Additional watercolor to enhance the final touch

The Robert Reed Drawing Workshops will expose a diverse group of college-level visual art and design students to an innovative drawing curriculum, curate the work of Robert Reed, and disseminate scholarship about his pedagogy at Penn State, Palmer Museum of Art, Hunter College MFA Studio, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Comprised of lectures, discussions, and workshops, the curriculum will be based on Reed’s pedagogy and taught primarily by his former students and colleagues. There will also be accompanying exhibitions of his work and teaching archives.

And it just wouldn’t be right if we didn’t make a lot of drawings in the process.

Penn State Workshop: February 21-24, 2019, University Park, PA

New York Workshop: March 23, 2019, New York, NY

Building on our two previous summer schools, which took place in Croatia in 2015 and 2016, this year TEN, an independent association of practising architects and researchers based in Zurich, are launching a new teaching programme in collaboration with Professor Maarten Delbeke and the Chair for the History and Theory of Architecture at the gta, ETH Zürich.

In this intensive 8-day international summer school school hosted by the IUAV University in Venice, our goal is to interrogate the relationship between the building and the book in architectural culture, with the aim of collectively constructing and live-printing our own architectural book in response to our findings: A Design Brief for a Library. This book will form the basis of a hands-on construction project to take place in the future years of our ongoing summer programme.

The workshop will cost €380 per student, including accommodation, tuition and some meals. Travel expenses are not included. Participation is worth 2 ECTS credits.

The application is open to students of architecture, art, design or history and theory. All further information (along with the online application form) can be found via the 'External Link' below.

Two kinds of lithography

This workshop is designed for artists who want to investigate completely portable printmaking plates that can be used on any kind of etching or lithography press. Students will learn two types of lithography that require minimal materials. Pronto Plate is a polyester plate that can be worked with freehand drawing and painting or photo images using a photocopier or laser printer. Gum Arabic Transfer or Paper Plate Lithography is method using a paper copy as a printing plate. Both have rich possibilities to expand the potential of creating large or small prints.

Participants will experiment with the two processes on a variety of surfaces such as paper and fabric. Students are welcome to bring previously printed works (monoprint, relief, etc.) Some printmaking experience is helpful but all levels welcome.



Program

Day 1: Introduction to the lithographic process. Morning: Slide presentation. Begin work on pronto plates. Demonstration of hand image making. Demonstration preparing images for either laser printer or photocopier using Photoshop. Demonstration of printing process. Afternoon: students begin printing first paper plates.

Day 2: Continue to work with both pronto plates and paper plates. Students begin printing first pronto plates on paper. They explore differences in technique and aesthetics between the two processes.

Day 3: More in depth coverage of both techniques. Students begin to explore multiple colors and a variety of registration techniques or continue on one color prints.

Day 4: Student expand possibilities in the printing surface to include a variety of papers and fabrics.

Day 5: Morning: continue printing. Afternoon: wrap up, class critique and discussion of further possibilities combining media.

Materials provided by the studio:

5 dinA4 Pronto Plates
5 dinA3 Pronto Plates
3 sheets Arches 88 300 g/m2 56 x 76 cm
1 sheet Mulberry paper 48 g/m2 97 x 64 cm
1 sheet Yoshi paper 109 x 79 cm
20 sheets High Quality Japanese Washi for Print Art 210 x 260 mm Awagami Editioning Papers 1 sample pack – Awagami Factory
Additional Pronto Plates, Arches, Mulberry and Yoshi paper will be available for purchase.

Studio supplies:

•Miscellaneous supplies, drawing tools, pens, pencils, Black Indian Ink, toner wash, lithographic tusche, litho crayons, permanent markers, drawing acetates, photocopy papers, wax paper, masking tape, rulers, brushes, Offset Inks, Etching Inks, Easy Wipe, Sumi Ink, Arabic Gum, sponges, plastic bowls, cleaning supplies, paper towels, newsprints and rags. Rollers and brayers. 3 intaglio presses. Oven.

What to bring:

Laser or photocopier prints on dinA4 and dinA3 size
Laptop with Photoshop (optional)

A graduate seminar on Print Making and Collectives across the Americas utilizing the Print Collection of the New York Public Library with specialist David Christie. It provides an opportunity to explore print-making via hands on experience with this fantastic collection. It is offered through CUNY Graduate Center's Art History Program Tuesdays 10-12:00 (one of our last Mellon seminars).

Feel free to contact the professor via email (kmanthorne@gc.cuny.edu) for more information.