This thematic workshop will explore the history and role of newspapers involving typography, type setting, and the written word, and how that relates to the development of reproduction techniques and the craft of printing. Connections will be made between the act of writing and producing text, and formats and methods of printing text for print. We will discuss well-known authors such as Mark Twain and Walt Whitman, who were also printers and publishers, and how the practice of setting type and printing newspapers influenced their writing and design methods. We will also explore the conceptual, philosophical, and practical similarities involving the invention and role of machines, typography, photography, and multiples, and nature's ability to reproduce and multiply through plant propagation—relating Mark Twain's idea of the acorn and the sharing of clippings from his Night Cereus plant to Walk Whitman's ideas of nature, transcendentalism, and the human condition. Together, we will look at slide presentations, artist book examples from the Center for Book Arts collection, and learn about the making/setting/reproduction of type for printing. Participants will be asked to write and share printed text with the group using several frameworks for generating content, as well as bring a plant they can share clippings from.
Course Code: 26SAT005I
This in-person workshop takes place on Saturday, March 21st, from 11AM to 5PM ET
Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on March 7th, at 11:59pm Eastern Time.