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Posted by Jason Urban on March 29th, 2009 |  It takes a lot of people to make a conference happen. Note the city worker polishing Anish Kapoor’s bean especially for SGC.
Despite the cold, Chicago was a huge draw. Attendence estimates were as high 1800! Overall the conference was a smooth running series of events and David Jones and the entire crew at Columbia College & other participating schools and venues deserve a hearty applause. Despite a few complaints about crowded demos (and when aren’t there complaints about that) and lack of tote bags, most if not all attendees seemed very happy with Global Implications. Putting together one of these conferences is an intense amount of work and while we all return to the comfort of our respective homes, they are still working because now it’s time to clean up after the party.
So with another Southern Graphics come and gone, what have we learned? Facial hair is still big in printmaking circles? Yes. Lowbrow is the new mainstream? Seemingly. Get to panels early if you want a seat? Definitely.
But I think if we take a broader view, maybe the most important thing we can walk away with our sense of community and the reality of our network. I say “reality” because so much communication and contact these days is virtual. From email to Facebook to Inkteraction, were all connected but that doesn’t mean we know each other (see ambient intimacy). It is nice to have an opportunity to see the face that goes with the name and have the physical contact of a handshake.
We started Printeresting almost a year ago (RL will have more on our anniversary contest tomorrow!) and this conference was really our first chance to get out and talk to so many people. We’re thrilled that some of you are familiar with the site and we enjoyed the chance introduce ourselves to quite a few new people. Response to the site content in general and our coverage of the conference in particular has been positive but we’re always open to feedback and suggestions. Feel free to drop us a line: printeresting.contact@gmail.com.
Though there will probably be some residual posts inspired by some of the SGC panels, lectures and demos and some of the people we met, this is the official conclusion of our SGC 2009 coverage. You can upload/view more pictures at the SGC Flickr site.
Thanks, everyone.
Posted by Jason Urban on March 29th, 2009 |  Friday night, John Hitchcock’s Satisfaction Town on the corner of 11th and Wabash was the place to be.
Satisfaction Town consists of the new breed of printmakers, artists, musicians, performers, poets, activists, and makers. We plan to create an interactive collaborative print environment with a parade of dimensional and flat prints. Traditionally in museum and gallery settings, art is put on a pedestal or framed under glass, removing it from the audience. Our approach for Satisfaction Town will be interactive. We will bring the art directly to the viewer, to distance the work from this hierarchical standard. We will create an active live print space with collaborative teams handing off prints to each other and to audience members.
follow the link below to see images of the show pre-event and the printstravaganza event that was Satisfaction Town.
Continue reading SGC: Satisfaction Town
Posted by amze on March 29th, 2009 | One of my favorite rituals of the SGC conferences has always been the open portfolio sessions: a room full of artists of all ages and skill levels, bearing their work to a community of peers.
Continue reading SGC Chicago: Open Portfolio sessions, What Cheer!
Posted by Jason Urban on March 28th, 2009 | There’ve been a few posts on Printeresting discussing the subject of mass customization vs. mass production and the pros and cons of sites like zazzle and cafepress.
SGC must have been listening. Get your “official t-shirts, baseball caps, and coffee mugs” at Cafepress.
 Trucker hat, anyone?
 1 person likes this post.
Posted by amze on March 28th, 2009 |  The Artist Jane Hammond delivered a sharp and literate artist’s talk today in Chicago. She mentioned her long standing “title collaboration” project with the poet John Ashbery (he names the title, then she makes the work) but her discussion of her work sounded more like language poetry to me, with its procedural meditations on language & symbols in an open-source collage oriented process that would make DJ Spooky blush.
 The Wonderfulness of Downtown, Jane Hammond published by ULAE in 1997 Continue reading SGC Chicago: Jane Hammond Key Note Lecture
Posted by Jason Urban on March 28th, 2009 | Okay, so maybe “extreme” wouldn’t be my first choice for an adjective (images of snowboarders drinking Mountain Dew come to mind), but it works well to describe the broad range and dynamism of this panel. Organized by Erik Brunvand, this panel focused on printmaking’s ability and tendency to incorporate new technologies.
 Edward Bateman discussed 3D Modeling as Matrix. Some of his digital images require up to 2,000,000,000,000 computer calculations.
Stephen Hoskins from the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of West England discussed Beyond Digital. He made strong case against the pixel in favor of vector-based graphics (proportional line being far more useful). His talk focused on rapid prototyping, 3D printing with ceramic, and laser cutting.
Here’s some video of Kansas City-based artist Mike Lyon using his CNC Router modfied to do drawings. After buying the router to increase his scale and production, he used it not only to make woodblocks and drawings, but he also used it to make his press and a flatpack work station.
 And this image is of Erik Brunvand. He is experimenting with making images on silicon microchips that are so small, they aren’t visible to the human eye. A microscope is required for viewing.
Posted by amze on March 28th, 2009 |
Posted by Jason Urban on March 28th, 2009 | At our request, writer/artist Richard Noyce has been kind enough to allow Printeresting to reproduce the written form of his contribution from the DISTURBED PLACES International Panel at Global Implications, Southern Graphics Council Conference, Chicago, March 2009. I’ll spare the intro except to say it was a strong panel and this a great read. Thanks for sharing, Richard.
Printmakers have a long history – a tradition even – of creating and participating in international competitions, exhibitions, conferences and events. Deep within the nature of the medium that has brought us together for this event is a desire to participate, to share and to learn, and to be a part of another tribal gathering, at another stop on the global pilgrimage route. Printmakers and print lovers are gregarious by necessity and by instinct, working as individuals within a cooperative framework. Working as I do in promoting and writing about printmaking more than in actually making prints (for which I wish I had more time!), I have found this mix to be seductive and continually fascinating.
Continue reading SGC: Richard Noyce from Disturbed Places Panel
Posted by amze on March 27th, 2009 | 
In a not entirely surprising move, the Southern Graphics Council took this conference to announce that they will change their name to:
SGC International
The new name is meant to honor the past of the organization while embracing it’s national stature and growing international aspiration.
Continue reading SGC Internationale’
Posted by Jason Urban on March 26th, 2009 | I arrived late to Performance Prints: Taking It to the Street and Stage so I missed the introductions and the first speaker. When I got there, Jenny LeBlanc of New Orleans’ Hot Iron Press was already midtalk. LeBlanc’s talk focused of her work and a number of collaborations with Kyle Bravo. Printing is an integral part to her performances. I’m too tired for commentary but here’s a link to a YouTube video she showed. It is of a three-person collaboration with Bravo and Claire Rau that’s currently showing in Toronto. It’s totally bizarre and great.
And Drive By Press‘ Greg Nanney gave a really solid and funny talk discussing thier UW-Madison origins and motivations. He had some worthwhile insight into touring across the country and talked about the t-shirt as an art medium. We’ll definitely have more about DBP later.
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