THE AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY WEBSITE IS LIVE!

The documentation website for the exhibition, AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY: Recent Printed Activist Ephemera, is now live at https://www.amplify-and-multiply.com/ The show was held at Colorado College's Coburn Gallery in March and April of 2017. It featured the work of over 150 artists, from 7 different countries, in over 500 pieces. We filled the gallery from top to bottom.

The description from the site:

AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY presented the art of resistance—the varied means in which activism has been channeled into visual expression in the fight against racism, white supremacy, misogyny and other forms of oppression. On display was an array of activist/social/political printed posters, protest signs, objects, fundraiser publications and other ephemera produced and used in the 6 months prior to the opening. 

The site has images of the installation (as seen above), labelled documentation of every piece, and a complete list of participants.

The entire exhibition (with only a few exceptions) is archived in Special Collections at Colorado College's Tutt Library. It is available for research use and (possibly) for other exhibitions.

You can read the original call for entries here: http://pressatcc.blogspot.com/2017/02/call-for-entries-amplify-multiply.html

THE OTHER ROOM by BRIAN EVENSON

The Press at Colorado College is very excited to announce the release of a new book, The Other Room, featuring the first publication of a short story by the renowned writer, translator, and critic, Brian Evenson. (Please click on the images to see larger versions in a separate slideshow.)

From the colophon:

The typeface used in this book is Lirico, designed by Hendrik Weber and published by OurType in 2008. The painting on the pages is acrylic gesso. The text was letterpress printed from photopolymer plates. The large numbers and letters on the title page were printed from collagraph blocks. The images were made with a variety of collagraph matrices. The text paper is Rives Lightweight, and the cover stock and endsheets are from the French Paper Company. The Cotlin bookcloth wrapping the boards is painted with gesso and printed from collagraph and photopolymer plates.

Aaron Cohick, Printer of The Press at Colorado College, was the primary editor, designer, and printer. CC students Patrick Lofgren, Amelia Atencio, and Charles Theobald all helped with various parts of design and production.

Further Other Book Works, also located in Colorado Springs, consulted on and led work on the binding. Corie Cole helped with proofreading and day-to-day logistics.

Fifty copies of this book were made. Forty copies, numbered 1 – 40, are for sale. The remaining ten copies, numbered AP 1, AP 2, and so on, were given to the various people who worked on the book.

About the author:

BRIAN EVENSON is the author of a dozen books of fiction, most recently the story collection A Collapse of Horses (Coffee House Press 2016) and the novella The Warren (Tor.com 2016). He has also recently published Windeye (Coffee House Press 2012) and Immobility (Tor 2012), both of which were finalists for a Shirley Jackson Award. His novel Last Days won the American Library Association's award for Best Horror Novel of 2009. His novel The Open Curtain (Coffee House Press) was a finalist for an Edgar Award and an International Horror Guild Award. Other books include The Wavering Knife (which won the IHG Award for best story collection), Dark Property, and Altmann's Tongue. He has translated work by Christian Gailly, Jean Frémon, Claro, Jacques Jouet, Eric Chevillard, Antoine Volodine, Manuela Draeger, and David B. He is the recipient of three O. Henry Prizes as well as an NEA fellowship. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Greek Spanish, Japanese, Persian, and Slovenian. He lives in Los Angeles and teaches in the Critical Studies Program at CalArts.

To place an order:

The price of The Other Room is $300 USD, plus shipping. The edition is complete and ready to ship. If you would like to purchase a copy, please email Aaron Cohick at aaronDOTcohickATcoloradocollegeDOTedu.

The Other Room
Story by Brian Evenson
52 pages, sewn boards binding
6” x 7.5” (closed)
Letterpress printed from photopolymer plates and collagraph, and hand painted with acrylic gesso
Variable edition of 50: 40 copies plus ten artist’s proofs
2017
$300

CALL FOR ENTRIES! AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY: RECENT PRINTED ACTIVIST EPHEMERA

5 of 6 prints from The Continuing Project, by The Press at CC. Available here. 

CALL FOR ENTRIES! PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!
 
AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY: Recent Printed Activist Ephemera

IMPORTANT DATES:
Sign-up Deadline: February 24, 2017
Arrival Deadline: March 16, 2017
Exhibition Dates: March 27 – April 17, 2017
Reception: Friday, March 31, 2017, 4 - 6 pm
Return Shipment: April 25, 2017

AMPLIFY & MULTIPLY will be an exhibition of activist/social/political printed posters, protest signs, objects, fundraiser publications, and other ephemera, made in (roughly) the last 6 months, advocating for social and environmental justice, equality, and the rights of oppressed people. This is a show that will stand in opposition to fascism, racism, white supremacy, misogyny, and every other horrible tool that power uses to maintain its killing grip. We are looking for work that has been deployed in the real world, as opposed to being made just for this show. This show is not limited to professional artists. It is open to anyone who has felt compelled by recent events to produce and share a message in the print medium.

The show will be held in Colorado Springs, at Colorado College’s Coburn Gallery, from March 27 to April 17, 2017.

IMPORTANT: As this is a show of ephemera, we are not planning on returning the pieces. If you want your pieces returned, you must notify us in advance and use reusable packaging that includes a return shipping label. All of the work that we keep at Colorado College will be housed in a permanent archive in Tutt Library’s Special Collections, accessible to students and the general public.

GUIDELINES:
Please email Aaron Cohick at aaron.cohick@coloradocollege.edu if you are going to participate, and please also note if you can donate your pieces or if you would like them returned. The deadline for sign-ups is February 24, 2017.

• All work must be printed (letterpress, screenprint, offset, digital, Riso, etc.). We will not exhibit hand-lettered signs.
• Send as many pieces as you like. Multiple copies are great and will all be displayed if there is space.
• Work should have been made since August of 2016, but that is flexible. Definitely nothing before 2016.
• No fee. No jury. No sales. No trolls.
• Artists are responsible for shipping costs to and from Colorado College. See “Shipping” below for more info.
• Unframed works/objects only
• The exhibition will be hung salon-style, using binder clips hung on push pins.
• Objects that are not posters (like tote bags, buttons, etc.) are definitely encouraged.
• Artwork will not be insured by Colorado College during transit or while on site.

SHIPPING:
Send work to:

Aaron Cohick
The Press at Colorado College
14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Please write “Amplify Show” on the labels or packages.

REMINDER: If you want your pieces returned, you must use reusable packaging and include a return shipping label.

CONTACT:
Aaron Cohick, Printer of The Press at Colorado College 
aaron.cohickATcoloradocollegeDOTedu

From A People's Curriculum for the United States, by Cuneiform Press

THE PRESS AT CC WILL BE AT THE CODEX FAIR IN FEBRUARY!

See you there? It will be the first chance to see our new book, The Other Room, by Brian Evenson.

The Codex Fair is incredible. Find out more here.

THE MILLS COLLEGE BOOK ARTS PROGRAM IS IN DANGER

Hello Friends of Books and Art and everything in between: 
Mills College has decided to axe its fantastic Book Arts program, which includes a dual MFA in Creative Writing and Book Arts. In terms of programs like this, it is a model for others--I look to it as what the program at Colorado College could be. And in a larger sense the cutting of the program follows a larger, distressing pattern in higher ed. where small, interesting, rare programs are cut in favor of bland, corporate sameness. If you care about books and art and book arts and education, please take a moment to sign and share this petition.

And here is a website with more info and testimonies from current and former students of the program: http://savemillsbookart.tumblr.com/

THE PRESS ON BOOK TV

The Press at CC was featured as a part of C-SPAN2 Book TV's Cities Tour. They produced a whole show exploring literary and historical aspects of Colorado Springs, and The Press was a part of it. The class in the video is a History FYE (First Year Experience, so these students are brand new to CC), taught by Carol Neel. The image above is just a screenshot, but you can watch the whole video here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?321938-1/press-colorado-college

YOU NEED MOUNTAIN FOLD BOOKS, MOUNTAIN FOLD BOOKS NEEDS YOU!

There has been a lot of growth in our (still) little print-book-publishing community here in COS in the past year: new independent artists, new publishers, new community studios, new recording studios, new zines, new letterpress studios. It’s been wonderful, amazing, and I can’t wait to see how far we can take this.

The first part of a lively scene is the people doing the work. We’re getting us some people, making us some work. The second part is a place where those people can gather, to share their work with other people also gathered. To bring those “other people” (the public, let’s say) in, to let the artists already there out, to make those “other people” not “other,” but people, each belonging in their individual way.

A secret group with a static membership does not grow as a community, plays no role as a group in the larger community. A place of sharing & gathering & growing/changing is crucial. One such place is on the verge of opening in south downtown Colorado Springs: Mountain Fold Books. (Full disclosure: I am a board member of Mountain Fold, and I believe fiercely in the project.) The description from the MFB website:

Mountain Fold Books is a new kind of bookstore. We're a non-profit, membership-based bookstore and reading room/gallery that will make small-press books and magazines accessible to the community of Colorado Springs and the greater Pikes Peak Region. While we have an amazing library district and two university libraries, small-press books of poetry and art books remain difficult to access. Our aim is to help connect Colorado Springs to the growing art and literary communities along the Front Range of Colorado by providing a welcoming place for the community to gather, read, exchange ideas, give readings and see books and art that currently can only be found in larger metropolitan areas.

We are entering the last week of Mountain Fold’s first Membership Drive & Fundraiser. Success in this endeavor means that MFB will be funded until July of 2015, which means that the folks in charge can focus on making it the crucial thing that it needs to be, that this community needs, and that the small press-artists’ book-zine-print-etc. community at large needs. All of the information that you need to make your (tax deductible) donation is here:
 
http://www.mountainfoldbooks.org/shop/

TYPE NERD: A SHORT FILM ABOUT THE PRESS AT CC

CC Student Cameron Boyd made this short film about The Press at CC in the documentary film class in Block 5 of this year. He was shooting during one of our quiet times, but really managed to capture the look & feel of our well-loved studio.


TYPE NERD from Cameron Boyd on Vimeo.

EVERYONE IS HAPPY WHEN THE TYPE GOES HOME

Found this on my desk this morning, a note from one of our apprentices letting me know that she put her type away. & we all win.

TYPEFACES: THE ARTISTRY OF LETTERING

Typeface is tightly connected to the history of technology. Although first invented in China, movable type was not “discovered” in Europe until Johannes Gutenberg developed a version in 1450s Germany. Moveable type changed the ability to spread ideas, and in many ways, it actually helped fuel the split between the Catholic and Protestant churches that gradually led Western society into modernity. From there, we eventually used typewriters and now the home computer. Lettering effects everything we do, and we have hundreds of variations at our very fingertips. They are as unique as our fingerprints.

Here at the Press, part of our apprenticeship training focuses on understanding the bones of a couple different typefaces. The challenge is to visually understand the lettering and then be able to copy it. Without tracing. [Ed. note: The exercise referred to is adapted from an assignment by designer/educator Ellen Lupton, http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/contents/extras/#Tools_for_Teachers] It is a lot harder than it sounds. This exercise makes you focus on how a font style can visually change the way we perceive words. It challenges you to see the artistry behind the lettering. So when I’m sitting here trying to painstakingly sketch the letter A, I’m reminding myself that it is to understand the signs that make up the written world. 

Each of the examples illustrates a completely different way of writing the letter A. Some of these types have been around for a long time, acting as standards. Others, like the Chalkduster example illustrate the new ways we can use technology to make typefaces. One of the older types is Baskerville. It belongs in the "Transitional" category of type. First created by print enthusiast John Baskerville, we have been using this style of font since the 1760s! This is a Baskerville A. 

The distinguishing characteristics include a distinct differences between the wide and narrow strokes. In a way, it imitates a calligraphy nibbed pen. It definitely tapers a bit, and it is longer than say, the Garamond A. This makes it great at extending the text slightly, and creates a uniformity among the capital letters. Best of all, it is very clear and easy to read. 

My hand-drawn attempt is slightly too narrow, and the feet are not equal. But in general, the strokes imitate the typeface. After a few tries, I find that I start noticing distinguishing characteristics of typeface. It becomes a question of visual clarity, sharpness of corners, and rigidity of text. From there, the technical aspects diminish in importance and the letter itself achieves an unmistakable level of beauty. Which font to use is not just a technical question; it is a question of art. 

-All photos and text by Erin Conner

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Here, at the press, we use presses. And letters (type). Think of this post as a recognition of some of the other tools necessary to our work. Those of you who have never printed on a letterpress before will learn a whole new and utterly useless vocabulary and those of you who use these tools every day—well, you just might learn something too. 

Our galleys, or galley trays. Used to hold type which has been composed (put together) but not yet printed or printed but not yet distributed (put away).

The word originally appeared meaning low, flat-built seagoing vessel of one deck. Printers allegedly started using the word around 1650 because of it's similarity in shape. (Really? These look like boats?) I'd like to think it's because the type is in transition—not at its home drawer, not at its destination of the press bed, but traveling. Like it were, say, on a boat.

Our quoins. Not coins, contrary to the belief of many. Expandable sticks that "lock" a forme into the press bed by way of horizontal pressure. From a 16th century word for cornerstone which came to mean wedge which for obvious reasons came to be applied to these.

Our furniture. I can't even find a printing-related definition of this word. Used for filling the press bed once the forme is in place so the quoin will have something to apply pressure against. In a sense, it's what is used to furnish the press bed after the forme is in place.

Our planers used for leveling type in the press bed. Also known affectionately as blocks of wood.

Our type height gauge. Used to gauge the height of something one wants to print. So that thing can be adjusted to be type-high (.918 inches), EXACTLY. Not absolutely necessary but an impressively sensitive and accurate machine.

Our pica rulers. Used for measuring in type-based units known as picas. Pica is Latin for magpie so clearly the word came from when magpies would steal printers' rulers. Because, you know, they like shiny things.

Our guillotine. This can cut through a stack of paper as thick as your head in one clean swipe. It could probably also cut through your actual head. You can guess where its name came from. Used for cutting paper. Although I did once meet a man who ran a lumberyard and used an old guillotine blade he had outfitted with a couple handles to peel bark off of logs. He had an impressive beard.

That long metal lollipop-looking thing is our roller gauge. The diameter of the metal cylinder is exactly type-high, which is why it's handy for making sure the rollers are the right distance from the press bed to ink up type.

Our composing sticks. Used for setting type to an even line length. And our wayzgoose.

Dear tools of the press,

Thank you.

We couldn't do it without you.

With love,

Taryn Wiens

COLORADO FLOOD RELIEF POSTERS FROM THE PRESS!

A group of CC students have designed and printed letterpress posters about the recent floods in CO. We are selling them to raise money for continued relief efforts and long-term mitigation projects. The posters cost $10 and will be available at the Tutt Library Circulation Desk and The Press at CC in Taylor Hall. All money raised will be donated to Foothills United Way (Boulder area) and the Manitou Springs Emergency Recovery Fund. 

2013 Colorado Flood Broadside  
by Ashley Johnson, Patrick Lofgren and Katie Smith
  
Letterpress from lead type, collagraph and linoleum 
  
Edition of 90 

10.75” x 14.75”
  
2013
  
$10
 

PAUL MOXON IS COMING TO CC TO TEACH A VANDERCOOK MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP!

We are excited to announce that the Press at CC will be hosting a Vandercook Maintenance Workshop, taught by Paul Moxon, on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3. The workshop will run from 10 AM – 4 PM on both days. In the workshop:

Participants will learn all the points of maintenance, cleaning and lubrication so as to be prepared for potential problems and make or direct repairs. We will also discuss all models of interest and other brands as warranted. Whether you use studio presses, own a press, or are thinking of buying one, this workshop will provide excellent direction for your future presswork. Bring your questions, photos and/or broken parts. Paul will also share examples from his collection of Vandercook literature. [text from Paul Moxon’s website]

The total number of participants is limited at 12. Six of the spots will be open to the general public, and six will be reserved for CC students. The cost is $150 for the public, and free for CC students. If you would like to reserve a spot, please email Aaron Cohick, Printer of The Press at CC, at aaron[dot]cohick[at]coloradocollege[dot]edu by Friday, Oct. 25. Once your spot is reserved we will contact you to arrange payment. Please direct all questions to the email above as well.

For more info, you can visit Paul’s personal website, and his amazing Vandercook resource site.

jeNGK: C BLOCK BOOK ARTS AND LETTERPRESS

The initial assignment for the final was an individual project, but we created a new project proposal to work together as a class, which Aaron approved. Each student came up with a two-word phrase on the theme of "junk" and gave it to a classmate to interpret. Those words were turned in to a four-page folio design which we worked in teams to print.

The book is pictured along with our other projects during our class opening on August 2nd.

The initial assignment for the final was an individual project, but we created a new project proposal to work together as a class, which Aaron approved. Each student came up with a two-word phrase on the theme of "junk" and gave it to a classmate to interpret. Those words were turned in to a four-page folio design which we worked in teams to print. 

We worked together on nearly every aspect of the final project and the outcome is a true, nine-person collaboration (with lots of help from Taryn Wiens and Aaron Cohick of course!) 

Group projects are not always exciting and successful, but this experience was an exception. Each member of the class has a distinct design style, which allowed the final to be a coherent and differentiated piece reflective of each student's efforts. 

We worked hard, and had a wonderful time.

All photos and text by Leeds Mallinckrodt-Reese.  

THE REBIRTH OF TRUTH

"Madness" writes 19th century German philosopher Heinrich Shleschmann Zuute, in his groundbreaking literary manifesto Zuberflagen, "has deprived the common man of his common dream in a common world surrounded by commoners. Only through the purge of a spiritual lobe can we release yet another suture in the tapestry of a mortal plane." My work at the press aims to realize this goal through a direct attack on the human psyche.

Above you may witness the object in which my methods have come to fruition. I have descended to the still widely unknown of this institution of higher learning; and by utilizing the medium of letterpress printing, I have crawled back. Spreading these brief glimpses throughout a reality that many of you exist in each painful day. A piece must have a frame, however subtle, otherwise the artism of reality can "flood the fluvial cellar of the mind, reducing civilization and nature to a state of desperation." *

*Heinrich Shleschmann Zutte, Zuberflagen

Below, you can see the pure form of philosophy. In order to obtain such genius, one must first strip away all inner sight, then strip away the schema of the self, the unself, and, of course, the bookself. The vision below is where truth lies in an ultimate form. The image of a lyrical poet, similar to a modern day bard, hovering over simple, centered, soulful syllables from my intellectual expeditions, is the most reliable form.

With this form as a template I am able to deconstruct and reconstruct this prose vector pattern however I desire, while still remaining efficient and true to the moral and philosophical standards the categorical imperative has set for us.

"BEHOLD! THE BIRTH OF A NEW GOD. REASON HAS WROUGHT IT AND FAITH HAS BIRTHED IT"* Now you have seen the beauty and symmetry of my grand design. As all the stark prose is four vectors in length, I am able to exchange any four vector length piece of prose out for another, thus rendering my design fluid. The design is only three simple runs, a number and simplicity laced with imagery of the tiger lily, oft referenced in manuals of human beauty. 

*Heinrich Shleschmann Zutte, Gods, Humans, Horse.

Watch out, School born of the Rockies. The truth has been unleashed, and no amount of blind ignorance may stop a vassal as potent as the work of tireless hands. The truth is around you, it simply waits to be seen. 

Already a new project, which will be created with my hands, is underway. This larger work will follow the harrowing journey of a Brazilian outlaw on his trip to Hell, and the death of the devil shortly after he arrives. The broadside will assault the senses with heavy handed beauty and loose baggage. 

-Evan

The truth was being forged by a man who was listening to Will Smith. 

This man would recommend the song "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" in particular. It has that peppy bounce that kidz crave.