Greetings & Inquiries

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Hi, friendly denizens of Davis Square. I'm looking for help from the vast powers of the internet.

I'm moving up north in a couple of weeks. Right now I'm in the depths of the South, working on my MFA in book arts (The short version of the bio - I'm a former used bookseller and art teacher, was an art history major, moved from Chicago to New Orleans, and then got some weird idea that going to grad school was a good idea), and I've got two questions.

First, does anybody know of letterpress printers in the area who might trade studio-assistant work for time on their presses? I don't know how to use a C&P flywheel, but I'm good with the Vandercook proof press and the iron handpress (I've done most of my work on a Washington press).

Second, my thesis involves a kind of ... performance/installation thing, with a thousand paper cranes and ritual burning thereof after a certain amount of display time. I can do this down south, but I'd rather do it in a more, for lack of a better term, punkrockart-friendly place. My ideal space would be somewhere post-industrial, and I'd like to have music and suchlike (assuming I can find bands or a DJ or... right, and I can't actually spend money, since I don't have any). It isn't something that lends itself to the quiet, sedate sort of art gallery opening, and also I have some doubt that there are traditional galleries willing to have fire as part of an installation, even smallish and well-controlled ones. If anyone out there has some idea of a place for this kind of thing, or people to contact, I'd really appreciate some leads. The only problem is that it needs to happen soon - I'm aiming for doing my defense in October, and I've got to have all the documentation done for that.

There's some of my work online - reject sheep press & forget gutenberg - if anyone's interested (n.b. the website is very much a rough draft, and the thesis page even more so than the rest of it).

Edit for clarification: Ok, given the risk of fire getting out of control, the burning is something I'd do in as contained a manner as possible. It's not like they actually have to be up while they burn. It is kind of a thought I've had, to send them out on the river, but ... well, I'm not sure how that would go over with the various relevant governmental bodies either. (It's all handmade paper, cotton and linen, pretty much acid-free, although I don't know how damaging the dye would be at this point; all the color is from whatever the rag was dyed with, and it was pretty old rag mostly. I'm not terribly concerned about the ecological impact aside from that, though, 'cause it's all going degrade very fast indeed.)

Comments

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Vandercook?? I haven't heard that name for decades!

Some of the art studios around here use flatbeds, (Mixit (http://catherinekernan.com/mixit/mixit.html)) and I once saw a platen press in the window of a print shop on White St. opposite the Porter Square shopping center. They might be out of business now.

As for setting things on fire as part of a performance ... it's very unlikely you'll be able to get permission for this, particularly since the Rhode Island nightclub fire (http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/07/17/prosecutors_file_witness_list_in_nightclub_fire_case/) that killed a hundred people three years ago. I was doing props for a video shot last summer, and even with a professional stunt crew on hand and nothing more dangerous than Tiki torch oil used in an outdoor field, the fire department was very unhappy.

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Hoom. Yeah, that would indicate the bad-ideaness of fire. I can probably do something destructive that's not fire, I really don't want anything to get out of control. Thanks for pointing that out :)

And hey, cool, I'll check that studio out.

[farwing.livejournal.com]

Weren't you originally planning to set the cranes on fire while sending them out on the water? They could be viking funeral cranes!

I dunno...putting your cranes through a paper shredder would be less awesome than burning them. Would you be okay with moving the cranes outside to be burned? I have no idea if you could get away with that either...

Just doing my part to be Not Very Helpful.

[ron_newman]

Although even after that disaster, I think I've seen jugglers with torches in at least one theatre.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

total long shot, but what about doing something in conjunction with Waterfire in Providence, Rhode Island? They have performers there, and they have fire already, so if you could find a way to send the cranes into the fire pits on the river, it might work....

I have no idea how you go about finding out about this, though.

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Harvard's Adams House has the Bow and Arrow press. I don't know whether they'd let non-affiliates use the presses or whether they're operating at all over the summer, but it might be worth a shot. I think the contact person is John Pyper (johnpyper@yahoo.com).

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Ooo, neat. Thanks :)

Kat Ran Press

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

You might inquire with Kat Ran Press, in North Adams, Massachusetts. They make absolutely beautiful very limited addition letter press books. Custom fonts, handmade paper, custom inks, original artwork in each book. Here's a link: http://www.katranpress.com/ Not sure what type of press they use. The press is really a one-man operation, a very overworked man at that.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

The Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity at MIT has a letterpress, maybe you could make an arrangement with them? See http://web.mit.edu/apo/www/printing.shtml . (I'm assuming that the unspecified "machine" mentioned on the page is the same letterpress they had 15 years ago.)

Good luck!

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

The press is indeed a late nineteenth century letterpress. I'm not active in the chapter anymore, but last I checked, only brothers were given access to the press.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

I just thought it might be worth a phone call to verify that.

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiosity, do you remember specifically what variety of press it is?

letterpress in Somvl

[glowroper.livejournal.com]

Check out
http://elsa.photo.net/firefly.html
and the little movie at
http://elsa.photo.net/video/firefly-small.mov

Firefly Press
23 Village St
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 625-7500
Proprietor: John Kristensen

He is in my church, and was talking about moving across the river at some point - but you should call. He is not so much for the internet, last I knew. A wonderful man.

Re: letterpress in Somvl

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

I'd heard of Firefly, actually, in positive terms from some of the people down here :) So thanks, I'll keep him in mind.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

unfortunately for this you can't use fire, but mobius is calling for proposals for a september show which might be up your alley:
http://moboids.wordpress.com/

"Mobius, Inc. is an artist-run 501(c)3 non-profit organization for experimental work in all media. Founded by members of the Mobius Artists Group in 1983, the total organization is a laboratory for artists experimenting at the boundaries of their disciplines. Presenting new work by dozens of artists each year, Mobius is unequalled in Boston in its commitment to Boston artists and the alternative arts."

they might also be able to steer you in the right direction for the kind of space you'd prefer.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

You could check over at Mass Art. They teach letterpress there and might have some good contacts with local letterpress shops.

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Mass Art teaches letterpress? Rad! That is really good to know.

[heliopsis.livejournal.com]

Mass MOCA in North Adams has huge, post-industrial spaces. I can imagine them getting behind this. I really don't know to whom you'd talk, but check out their website, www.massmoca.org

Hmm, the Boston ICA has a nifty new building right on the water, maybe you could burn your cranes on a barge. They're at www.icaboston.org

[amethystmoon.livejournal.com]

Manifesto Press in Easthampton, MA does exclusively typesetting work, but they do it exclusively commercially ot my knowledge. Though it's a small company, so they may be willing to work somethign out, or at least give suggestions.

Your crane thing... sounds like an odd combination of my BFA thesis and what a bunch of us did for my best friend's mother when she was dying of/died of cancer.

My thesis was a photo/audio recording/performance installation thing (trying to find a space out here to show it again).

My friend's mother, Donna, when she was diagnosed with cancer, someone mentioned a Japanese legend that if you fold a prayer into a thousand paper cranes, your wish will be granted. By the time Donna died months later, friends and family had folded over two thousand cranes. Mostly, it was something for people to do with their hands when we ran out of helping with cooking and cleaning, and we all just needed to feel useful. Some got strung, and various family members still have strings decorating their houses, but there were too many. So, a little while after she died, the family invited everyone close to her over for a sort of memorial gathering, which concluded with each person in turn taking a crane (or a handful), saying something about Donna, and throwing the cranes into a bonfire. When everyone was done saying things, the remainder also got put in the fire.

[amethystmoon.livejournal.com]

PS - I'm sure you can find a band or DJ to help out for free. My performers and interview subjects were all friends.

[amethystmoon.livejournal.com]

PPS - try boston.craigslist.org to find musicians, if the various Boston LJ communities don't cut it

[corruptviridian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm kind of working off that legend, although I'm not quite crazy enough to fold all of the cranes myself. Folding cranes is an excellent fidget, and it sounds like it was a really good thing to do.

Photo/audio/performace sounds like a lot of fun for a thesis.

And thanks for the heads up on Manifesto Press.