Recently Beauvais Lyons, Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, sent the Southern Graphics (SGC) Listserve an annotated bibliography “intended to provide a set of readings to inform practice in contemporary print media.” The bibliography came out of a panel session at the 2008 SGC conference. The panel session “Syntax of the Print Revisited” was chaired by Beauvais Lyons, and included papers by Shaurya Kumar, Hugh Merrill and Ruth Weisberg. In addition to discussing the importance of Ruth Weisberg’s article “Syntax of the Print: A Search for Aesthetic Content” published in The Tamarind Papers in the Fall of 1984, the panel also set out to trace the new expanding boundaries of print. Most audience members indicated that the panel was a success and a welcome break from the usual fare.
The bibliography is hosted by Professor Lyons on the UT Knoxville site and can be found here. The document includes texts ranging from hallowed visual culture/visual studies must-reads like, Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” and Jean Baudrillard’s “Simulations”, to more secular works like, Richard Sennett’s “The Craftsman” or Lewis Hyde’s “The Gift: The Erotic Life of Property”. While most of the recommended reading can be had with any library card or a quick trip to the St. Mark’s bookshop (and 2nd mortgage), readers not associated with a university library may be frustrated trying to track down copies of the conference papers and articles from relatively obscure print publications.
The reading list is far-reaching and comprehensive and its editors should be praised for their effort in compiling the list. It is the product of many noteworthy editors beyond the four panel members, as the introduction indicates, “several people reviewed the bibliography and offered suggestions, including Adele Henderson, Ruth Pelzer-Montada, Karen Kunc, April Katz, and Phyllis McGibbon, among others.” It should also be noted that the bibliography also seems to be a wiki of sorts: “suggestions for additions to this bibliography should be sent to: blyons@utk.edu.”
Hopefully this bibliography and the panel that spawned it are a sign of things to come from the historically-southern print organization as it nears it’s 40th anniversary.
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July 16, 2008 at 12:42 pm
jasonurban
I’ve got a book to add… Chasing the Perfect by Natalia Ilyin
This isn’t necessarily a “must-read” for printmakers but it is one of the rare art books that is both light AND insightful- it would definitely be good for the beach. As a designer herself, Ilyin doesn’t focus on art but her points are often applicable. Ilyin has a knack for using antidotes to illustrate interesting points about Modernism, its practitioners, and its legacy. “Browsing the Tome” is a particularly good chapter.
Ilyin also had a great article in the most recent issue of Step called “Man in the Irony Mask.” Its short and worth a read.
July 20, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Ruth Weisberg
Thank you Beauvais! this is going to be a terrific resource and stimulus for dialogue and new thinking –or old thinking renewed which is what I seem to specialize in…….. So who is the guy in the photo? Looks like Walter Benjamin but I can’t be sure.
With real appreciation, Ruth
July 20, 2008 at 5:23 pm
amze
Thanks Ruth!
It is indeed Walter in the photo.
No doubt he is working away on his unpublished book of recipes.
Thanks for looking at our blog!
July 22, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Lou
Does anyone get the feeling the Benjamin article is sort of a dead horse for printmakers at this point? I mean, it applies in a “well, duh” sort of way, but I always got the impression it was more of a prestige thing, to make printmaking in general sound more conceptual.
Just curious if anyone hearing mentions of Benjamin and the “printmaking is the democratic medium” line make your eyes roll back in your head.
July 24, 2008 at 10:41 am
rltillman
@ Lou:
I lean toward your attitude: I don’t know about a dead horse, but it’s an old horse. The article represents a dated ideology, and its critical premises are of little relevance to practicing print artists. Not to mention the fact that these premises are old enough to be considered “tested,” and they haven’t proven true. (One caveat here: perhaps he was decades ahead of his time, and the Internet will democratize the visual arts.)
Nonetheless, Benjamin owns a place on this list. “Art in the Age” remains a must-read for a student of print, not as a living critical text, but as a historical document.