A intensive 3 day international workshop to support up to 16 early and mid-career curators in the fields of prints and drawings. The workshop is funded by the Getty Foundation through The Paper Project: Prints and Drawings Curatorship in the 21st Century.

A vital part of a curator’s responsibility as the steward of a collection is not only to understand an object within historical, creative, and cultural contexts, but also to consider its material qualities and how a work of art might change over time. A good understanding of the technical and conservation issues of a collection enables curators to partner better with all colleagues involved in the care of objects. The workshop will build upon curators’ experience and training to date, augmenting it with the skills necessary for a holistic approach to any collection.

The main goal of this workshop is to help close a gap by exploring the fundamental points of intersection between conservation and curatorial practice. Activities and discussions will focus on issues related to preservation, acquisition, and interpretation (research, cataloguing, and publication), which includes understanding the physical structure and condition of a work, ideal storage, possible treatment needs, and display.

These aims will be achieved through a variety of experiences. Hands-on examination of artworks representative of the broad range of mediums that participants are bound to encounter in their careers is planned in the Art Study Center with objects from the museums’ collections. Practical drawing and printmaking experiences will be offered in the museums’ Materials Lab. Close looking with the aid of a variety of technical tools, will be undertaken in the Straus Center for Conservation with the goal of teaching the participants how to undertake basic technical examinations on their own. And throughout the course, participants will engage in discussion with curators, academic art historians, conservators, conservation scientists, and artists committed to the flourishing of the graphic arts.

The workshop will be led by the curators, conservators, and other members of the technical studies team responsible for overseeing and interpreting the Harvard Art Museums’ graphic arts collections, which span both Western and non-Western fields, from the late-medieval to contemporary periods. The project team consists of Francesca Bewer, Research Curator for Conservation and Technical Study Programs, and Director of the Summer Institute for Technical Studies in Art; Penley Knipe, Philip and Lynn Straus Senior Conservator of Works of Art on Paper and Head of Paper Lab, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies; Edouard Kopp, Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings; and Elizabeth Rudy, Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Associate Curator of Prints. (In January 2019, Kopp will become the John R. Eckel Jr. Foundation Chief Curator of the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston.)

Confirmed specialists will include Scott Rosenfeld: Lighting Designer at The Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C.; Ad Stijnman: independent scholar, printmaker, and print historian; and Joan Wright: Bettina Burr Conservator, Asian Conservation, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Other guest specialists are to be confirmed.

Eligibility and Application Process
Early and mid-career curators from institutions of various sizes worldwide are invited to apply. Specialties in prints and drawings of any scope of time and geography are welcome. No background in science or conservation, or access to in-house conservation resources, is required. A maximum of 16 participants will be admitted to the program. Applicants are evaluated on the basis of their academic accomplishments to date and on their expressed interest in integrating technical studies in their curatorial pursuits.

To apply, please send a letter of interest along with a current résumé/CV via email to am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu.

In the early and mid 19th century, the increasing adoption of wood engraving and the booming transnational trade in stereotypes (casts from wood engravings) effect a popularization of pictures throughout western culture. Moreover, this mediated migration of xylographic illustrations pushes forward the formation of new modes of combining letterpress and images on pages and on openings. This development becomes obvious on any reading-viewing of illustrated periodicals (of the Penny Magazine and of the Illustrated London News genre, of caricature magazines, and later on of ‹Familienblätter›: family magazines such as Gartenlaube) and books (for example Laurent’s/Vernet’s Histoire de l’Empereur Napoléon or Old Nick’s/Grandville’s Petites misères de la vie humaine). Nevertheless, little research has been done to investigate the changes that stereotyped wood engravings brought to the visuality of print culture.

There are some studies in manufacturing processes (paper stereotyping, electrotyping), but little in marketing strategies and their logistic and economic aspects. And almost no attention has been paid to the important role that stereotyped wood engravings play in the ambitious and dynamic visual culture of the 19th century.

We expect our Workshop to continue and/or initiate detailed explorative research in this field. Studies in stereotypes are particularly suitable to grasp the specificity of the print-media aspect of the visual culture of the period. Transnational trade in stereotypes provoked a cascade of changes in the relationship between letterpress and image in Europe and beyond. Both in terms of technical possibilities and in terms of the economics of publishing, it makes possible the emergence of the phenomenon, and of the term, ›illustration‹. In the process, the transnational flow of stereotypes encourages rearrangements of pictorial and verbal elements which are recombined and paratextually framed in convergent or divergent ways in different magazines and/or books in different locations. These recombinations alter the visual qualities of both typeset text and images, and draw attention to the flexibility of their relations, ranging from strictly word-governed pictures to typography with emphatic visuality. Analyzing these layout practices offers the opportunity to observe the emergence of a transnational verbal-visual syntax, as well as to witness the formation of local verbal-visual idioms.

We call for proposals for papers (in English or German) from book and media studies, from art and literary history, concerned with these or related topics. Papers should focus on the migration of stereotypes (principally of wood engravings), and its effects on the relations between letterpress and picture, or word and image, in the print-media culture of this period. Studies in economic aspects and market strategies of stereotype trading are most welcome, for example investigations of trade networks, or of logistic aspects of export/import practices. We will welcome studies which explore the impact of stereotype trading’s economic dimension on the visual design of illustrated magazine pages/openings.

-Contributions will be published in the research unit’s e-journal PeriodIcon. Studien zur visuellen Kultur des Journals / Studies in the visual culture of journals.

-Please submit your proposal (max. 500 words) and a short CV by February 15, 2109 latest to:
PD Dr. Andreas Beck: andreas.beck@rub.de
PD Dr. Madleen Podewski: madleen.podewski@fu-berlin.de

Participants will complete an edition of prints from metal plates worked entirely without acids, using a printmaking technique generally called drypoint. The drypoint medium is a wonderful means of drawing directly on a metal plate, without toxic chemicals or complicated technical sequences. Participants will make prints from metal plates worked entirely without acids, using drypoint, roulette, mezzotint, sandblasting, and engraving, exploring materials not usually associated with intaglio, such as sandpaper, stamping, and power tools. We will further learn to alter the surface of the plate with the scraper and burnisher. Participants will develop their plates in the studio, printing frequently to assess the development of the image. We will explore varied approaches to printing, emphasizing the skills of hand-wiping a plate, and printing a small edition from each plate.

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