Workshop 3: Letterpress in the Digital Age: Bath, 6 April 2018
Print and digital are often considered as antagonists, with the former imperilled by the latter. Yet the relationship between the two technologies of storage and reproduction is more complex than this. We still print out, for instance, and much of the language of digital media is rooted in print heritage. This workshop, to be hosted by Bath Spa’s new research centre ‘Making Books: creativity, print culture, and the digital’, examines the interconnected histories of print and digital technologies, and considers how each can help us learn about the other.
The workshop will take place at the Sion Hill campus, about a mile from Bath city centre. For directions how to reach the campus, click here.
Unfortunately the event is now full. You can follow events on twitter #ahrcletterpress. If you want to be involved in the network, there is still time to propose a paper for our conference.
At the workshop we plan to print a collaborative publication using type-high laser cut blocks. It's too late no to submit an image, but if you want to see what we plan to do, click here (pdf).
Provisional programme:
| 9:30-9:50 | Registration (Seminar Room) |
| 09:50-10:00 | Introduction and welcome (Lecture Theatre) |
| 10:00-11:15 | Session 1: The influence of digital on letterpress (Lecture Theatre) |
| Angie Butler (University of the West of England): 'Because it demands of us time and patience and frustration and wonder' | |
| Nick Hand (Letterpress Collective): '50 years of letterpress: from apprentice to print educator' | |
| Sarah Bodman (University of the West of England): 'The reproduction will not be digitised' | |
| 11:15-11:35 | Refreshments (Seminar Room) |
| 11:35-12:50 | Session 2: The disruption of digital and letterpress (Lecture Theatre) |
| Alan Marshall (Association of European Printing Museums): 'Between theory and practice: bringing letterpress and digital together in museums' | |
| Matthieu Cortat and Tor Weibul (École d'Art de Lausanne (ECAL)): 'Grève générale' |
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| Sheena Calvert and Robert Hetherington (Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts, London and The Royal College of Arts): 'Interpolate' |
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| 12:50-13:50 | Lunch (Seminar Room) |
| Displays by Reed Contemporary Books and letterpress printed books from Bath Spa Library (Seminar Room)Printing a collaborative publication - Penny Grist (Print Rooms) | |
| 13:50-15:05 | Session 3: Producing digital letterpress forms (Lecture Theatre) |
| Maciej Pawlikowski (Cambridge University): 'Creating Digital Content for Libraries and Museums: Letter punch challenge' and Ann-Marie Carey (Birmingham City University): title tbc |
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| Richard Kegler (Wells College): The future is plastics: Modular space-age type | |
| Chris Wilson (Blackdog Letterpress): 'Exploring contemporary letterpress through practice based research.' | |
| 15:05-15:25 | Refreshments (Seminar Room) |
| 15:25-16:30 | Printing the publication, and printing demonstrations (Print Rooms)Bath Spa Library collection of letterpress printed books (Seminar Room) |
| 16:30-17:20 | Roundtable (Lecture Theatre) |
| 17:20-17:30 | Closing remarks (Lecture Theatre |