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America Today: Voices in Contemporary Print feat. Lauren Rosenblum and Gustavo Garcia · philly has heART

0:14
Bonjour, Robert. Hey, Lucinda. How are you today?
0:18
Good. Excellent. How was your weekend? It looks
0:21
like it was jam -packed. It was jam -packed.
0:25
I started actually on Wednesday and I went to
0:28
the opening of the Sound of America at Fringe
0:31
Arts. Live band and all of the actors were musicians.
0:36
They were playing their own instruments. No way.
0:39
Yeah. And then on Thursday, Dominique Samarco
0:43
and I went to the Morgan Overton show preview
0:47
at No Name Gallery in Chestnut Hill. Phenomenal.
0:50
I mean, it was a preview. There were red dots
0:53
everywhere. Oh, my God. Even on preview night?
0:56
Wow. Like on preview night. It's called America
1:00
500, and it imagines what America could look
1:04
like in another 250 years. Done by one artist
1:08
or by multiple? One artist, Morgan Overton. Nice.
1:12
She's a past community organizer. She was involved
1:17
with politics, public policy, I believe. She's
1:21
from the Pittsburgh area. Now she's a full -time
1:24
artist. You kept the weekend going. First Friday.
1:28
with the family Friday evening. It was that evening
1:31
that temperatures topped 100 degrees, but the
1:34
boys and my husband were great sports. We went
1:38
to Paradigm Gallery and BYO Print, and then we
1:43
went to Muse Gallery, Fan Gallery, Pie Gallery,
1:51
Two Street Club. Tomo, and then we went back
1:55
to Two Street Club because they had gelato out
1:58
front, and I promised the kids gelato. Do you
2:01
want to know who decided that they did not have
2:03
a taste for gelato after dinner? Both of my kids.
2:07
Stop. But it wore them out. We went stroller
2:11
-less, so even the baby was on foot for most
2:14
of the time. Wow. And made for... I want to say
2:20
an early bedtime, but a no fighting bedtime.
2:23
That was lovely. Oh, yeah. I love when they just
2:25
knock out. And that's my littlest one whistling
2:29
from a Duplo right now, because by the time this
2:31
goes live, my husband will be back. But I am
2:35
staring down two more nights solo with my kiddos,
2:37
one of which. Who has just come down with a fever
2:41
and has found Legos to be a musical instrument.
2:43
How was your weekend? Oh, my gosh. Well, we started
2:47
the weekend a little early with a little opportunity
2:54
to get through our wedding invitations. Oh, tell
2:58
me about that. we went with chick invitations
3:02
which is out of old city so i found myself in
3:05
old city as well making sure that we were using
3:08
local small businesses to pull those wedding
3:14
final together and so it was like super cool
3:18
to go through the process and to work with basically
3:22
the designers and artists to pull together our
3:25
vision so that was fun that was fun but wait
3:28
real quick what did i tell you was the value
3:30
engineering measure that you should take for
3:33
your invitations oh the one that we did not listen
3:36
to and went with letterpress anyway Yes. You
3:39
go thermographic. You pay less money. Same look.
3:44
But somebody, two somebodies, I was on the phone
3:50
with and said, we saved some money. We went with
3:52
standard envelopes. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I know.
4:02
Still, we're probably going to have to put three
4:04
stamps on that bad boy, so. Yeah. I ordered those,
4:07
too. We went with America theme. Just remember,
4:11
the more people you invite, the more expensive
4:13
your invitations are. That's true. That is true.
4:17
I should start cutting people down. Question,
4:20
how much do you think Taylor Swift spent on her
4:23
wedding? Multiple seven figures. I am skeptical
4:26
that there was an actual ceremony at MSG. Really?
4:32
I think that that was just reception. no no no
4:37
no no no there's there's photos of seats and
4:41
adam sandler was the one who did the yeah i did
4:45
read that ceremony i mean she obviously saved
4:48
money by having it on a friday 100 same girl
4:52
same Did you get into anything else this weekend?
4:55
Where did you find yourself for the holiday?
4:57
We found ourselves down in Cape May to celebrate
5:01
the 4th, to see the fireworks, to be by the beach,
5:04
to try to stay in the air conditioning as much
5:06
as possible. And then I almost died in a cop
5:09
Pilates class. R .I .P. Robert. R .I .P. We almost
5:13
had a solo show. Man, I would have had to give...
5:19
Would I have had to give... A eulogy? No. Would
5:25
your half go to me or your better half? Oh, I
5:30
don't know. Gotta read that operating agreement,
5:32
babe. We actually really do have to reread the
5:36
operating agreement that we got. Okay. Well,
5:40
I'm glad you're back. I'm glad you're healthy.
5:41
You look great. You look snatched. Yeah, thanks.
5:45
Trying. Trying. Trying to get those glutes going
5:49
at the Pilates class. Here goes Lauren from the
5:52
Print Center and Gustavo, multifaceted artist.
5:56
On to the combo. On to the conversation. Greetings.
6:11
This is Robert Marsh and you're listening to
6:13
Philly Has Heart Podcast. In this podcast, we
6:15
sit down with the artists, gallerists, educators,
6:18
curators, and other creatives who comprise the
6:20
Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
6:24
exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
6:26
are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
6:30
is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
6:32
this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
6:35
me always is my producer, Lucinda Daggerland.
6:39
Salamences, bae! And today we have Lauren Rosenblum
6:43
from the Print Center and Gustavo Garcia, printmaker,
6:46
video producer, and photographer. Welcome. Thank
6:50
you. Thank you. So Lauren, you were one of our
6:54
first five or definitely first ten guests on
6:58
the pod, so welcome back. Since then, we've worked
7:02
together on Emerging Collectors Night for the
7:05
110 proof last year's major fundraiser for the
7:09
Prince Center. And for those who have not been
7:13
listening from the beginning, can you give us
7:18
an elevator pitch for the Prince Center? And
7:20
can you briefly tell us about how you became
7:23
involved in the Prince Center? Let me start by
7:25
thanking you, Robert and Lucinda, for the first
7:28
opportunity. last year to come and speak with
7:31
you about the work as a curator that I do at
7:33
the Print Center and again for having me joined
7:36
with Gustavo back on the show. Thank you, thank
7:38
you. So I've been the curator at the Print Center
7:42
for about two and a half years now and as you
7:45
may remember the Print Center is over a hundred
7:47
years old. It's a small non -profit off of Rittenhouse
7:50
that shows primarily printmaking and photography
7:53
and really focuses our work on supporting living
7:56
artists. I'm so proud of the work that we do
7:59
with living artists to give them space to explore
8:02
ideas, explore community, and present the best
8:06
of what's being done in printmaking and photography.
8:08
We do solo exhibitions. We do group exhibitions.
8:12
Oftentimes, we do programming like artist talks
8:14
or workshops. And then, as you mentioned, we
8:18
have wonderful fundraising events to our annual
8:21
benefit auction to support the ongoing work that
8:24
we do. Before we get into America Today, congratulations
8:28
on your recent award, the 2026 Leonian Foundation
8:32
Grant. Can you brag on the Print Center and tell
8:36
us about the grant and what the work it'll fund?
8:41
We are so grateful to the Leonian Foundation
8:43
for their support of our upcoming fall exhibition,
8:47
The Long Ride Home, Black Cowboys in America,
8:50
photographs by Ron Tarver. Tarver is an important
8:53
Philadelphia -based artist who currently teaches
8:56
at Swarthmore College, but prior to that had
8:59
a long career as a photographer for the Philadelphia
9:02
Inquirer. In his lifetime, he is... committed
9:06
to photographing the black cowboy here in Philadelphia,
9:09
which we're well familiar with as we see children
9:13
and adults riding through our city streets every
9:15
once in a while, as well as the presence of black
9:17
cowboys throughout the Midwest. We're really
9:20
proud and honored that Ron's going to be sharing
9:22
this work with us, which will then travel for
9:24
years to come across the Midwest as well. I encourage
9:27
you to check our website, princehunter .org,
9:29
as we release the dates for our exhibition opening.
9:32
I hope you can all join us. Great. Love that.
9:36
America Today Voices in Contemporary Print is
9:40
ending its spring into summer run. For those
9:43
who have not seen it yet, can you share some
9:46
information about it, including when it will
9:48
conclude? So America Today Voices in Contemporary
9:53
Print opened in mid -April and runs through the
9:55
end of July. It's time to take place during the
9:58
summer of our... Acknowledgement of the Semi
10:00
-Quincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the
10:03
writing of the Declaration of Independence, and
10:07
it's a unique project for both us at the Print
10:09
Center as well as our unique contribution to
10:12
the array of acknowledgements of this historic
10:14
occasion. The group exhibition features nearly
10:17
40 artworks by 40 artists drawn from six printmaking
10:22
workshops located across the United States, Brandywine
10:25
Workshop here in Philadelphia, the EFA Robert
10:29
Blackburn Printmaking Workshop based in Manhattan,
10:31
the Women's Studio Workshop located in the Hudson
10:34
Valley in upstate New York, the work from Pepe
10:37
Coronado Print Studio in Austin, Texas, Self
10:41
-Help Graphics from Los Angeles, California,
10:43
and Crowe's Shadow Institute for the Arts in
10:46
Pendleton, Oregon. Working alongside these six
10:49
printmaking workshops, I've pulled together an
10:52
exhibition, a group exhibition, that highlights
10:55
the ways in which contemporary artists think
10:58
about civic ideals and hold civic concerns. So
11:02
while our visitors to Philadelphia will encounter
11:04
historic presentations on the significance of
11:07
the Declaration of Independence, its writing,
11:09
and its context, or perhaps go to the art museum
11:13
or the Pennsylvania Academy to learn about the
11:15
long history of the ways in which artists have
11:17
grappled with the national project. They can
11:19
come to the print center and have a more intimate
11:22
experience, one -on -one, with contemporary prints
11:25
made by artists thinking about the very same
11:27
issues. Gustavo, you were one of the printers
11:29
at Brandywine Workshop and Archives. We understand
11:33
that you collaborated with artists to bring their
11:36
visions to life and assist in producing editions.
11:40
But let's backtrack. What has been your journey
11:44
in finding your art practice? It's been curvy.
11:49
Yeah, as they are. Yes, I've had the privilege
11:54
of having a really broad road into what I practice
11:58
today in some ways. And it's all because of the
12:02
arts, right? The arts have allowed me to represent
12:06
myself and call myself. printmaker, photographer,
12:11
master printer, video producer, all of those
12:14
things in different stages of my career. And
12:17
when some of the prints that were produced for
12:20
this exhibit, I was a printer at Brandywine Workshop,
12:24
so I got a chance to work with these really cool
12:26
artists that came from all over the country,
12:29
not just from Philadelphia. But how did I get
12:33
here? I mean, I grew up in Mexico. I was born
12:37
in Mexico. I grew up seeing crafts, grew up seeing
12:42
pottery. I grew up seeing all kinds of things.
12:46
Because you grow up with it, you don't know what
12:48
you have in some ways. And it took moving to
12:51
the United States and going to art school at
12:53
Tyler School of Art to truly understand what
12:55
I had or what I grew up with. So that was very
12:59
formative. I moved to the States when I was middle
13:02
school age. So I was like around 12. I think
13:06
you guys interviewed Jason Chen a while ago.
13:08
He moved when he was 13. Ooh, parallel life.
13:11
Yes. So it's like an immigrant story, right?
13:13
You move because your family is looking for a
13:16
better life in some way. So I moved to Philadelphia
13:19
to study at Tyler because there was a representative
13:23
from Tyler School of War that came to my high
13:25
school in central Pennsylvania. And he was like,
13:28
you can do this. You can potentially become an
13:31
artist. You can potentially do all these things.
13:33
And I was like, I'm going to go there. And I
13:35
did. Sold. Amazing. Sold. And that's how I ended
13:38
up here. And I, you know, I had the amazing experience
13:42
of working with some of the most cool artist
13:44
professors at the time. John Dow, Donna Nelson,
13:48
O'Dealy, which he's also, I got a chance to print
13:52
with him later down the years. And it was just
13:55
a really, really cool experience. You. have brought
13:58
us some treats today. And by treats, I mean some
14:01
beautiful prints. Can you kind of talk to our
14:05
audience about what goes into printmaking? Yes,
14:09
so I brought a set of the prints that are in
14:12
the show that the Print Center has. Because you
14:15
can't really talk about a print show without
14:18
looking at the prints, right? And the beautiful
14:19
thing about prints is that you can take them
14:22
anywhere because there's multiple. And that's,
14:24
again, the beautiful thing because... They can
14:28
travel everywhere where you can take them, right,
14:30
from different institutions to schools. You can
14:33
get hands -on experience with the prints. So
14:35
I brought some prints from the Cedric Huckabee
14:39
edition project. I brought something from my
14:41
Anna Moore's project, and I brought a set of
14:44
prints from Robert Pruitt's edition that he did
14:46
there. What's... Special about the work that
14:49
Gustavo has done and all of our print shop partners
14:54
provide is a unique environment for the creation
14:57
of art. Oftentimes, we're taught that a painter
15:00
stands alone in their studio, moved to make an
15:05
individual canvas. The printmaking studio offers
15:08
a very different environment. We think about
15:10
a large printing press, a large piece of machinery.
15:15
the kind of materials needed, the inks, the plates,
15:19
the stones. We think about the knowledge it requires
15:22
somebody like Gustavo to accrue over time. And
15:26
that is all in service, in community, with artists.
15:30
Artists are oftentimes invited individually or
15:34
applied to work in a space like this, at least
15:36
in some of the partners that we have on view,
15:38
not always. And they're given a rare opportunity
15:41
to collaborate, to work side by side along somebody
15:44
like Gustavo, who's there to help, in dialogue,
15:48
think through the logistics and mechanics and
15:52
technicalities of making an artwork, but also
15:54
bring to the table somebody to speak with, to
15:57
dream with, to explore with, and experiment with.
16:01
So ideas sometimes change over time. They appear
16:04
in different ways. There's a lot of decisions
16:06
to be made. And so when we have someone like
16:09
Gustavo to talk with, we get a little bit of
16:11
a peek behind the curtain. We get to see the
16:13
artwork, but then we get to hear about the hundreds
16:16
of decisions that got to be made in order to
16:18
make an artwork come to life. Yes. And I think
16:21
that describes... very well that the the experience
16:25
that you have you get to learn about people's
16:26
stories you get their personal life some of the
16:29
projects are very personal to the artists and
16:31
then they're very vulnerable by putting it out
16:33
into the world in ways that you start with one
16:37
idea and then it's by the end of the project
16:39
you get something like the stuff that we have
16:41
on the table which is very visual very striking
16:43
and things that people can identify with and
16:46
so as Gustavo was saying he's brought with us
16:49
three different projects that as we can see and
16:51
perhaps will be put in an Instagram slideshow.
16:56
Yes, definitely, definitely. Works by three artists
16:59
working in very different styles, having different
17:02
approach to the style they work in. but also
17:06
a different approach to the kinds of messages
17:08
that they want to communicate. Now remind me,
17:11
Gustavo, you worked on all three of these? And
17:13
so you can see the ways in which Gustavo is not
17:15
only able to assist, but also himself move between
17:20
the goals of these three different artists. Huckabee's
17:24
project, 101 lithographs that were made from
17:28
sketchbooks. sketch drawings that he made of
17:31
his community members in Fort Worth as a way
17:34
to understand what is community, what does community
17:37
look like, who are the people in my community.
17:40
The print by Ayanna Moore, the era of the tongue
17:44
and the lung, a very didactic. word -based image
17:48
that has these very expressive marks as well.
17:51
This is a quote from Zora Neale Hurston, an artist
17:54
and an anthropologist from the Harlem Renaissance
17:56
who wrote about the Black experience, whether
17:59
in the North or in the South. And these futurist
18:02
images by Robert Pruitt. Before we go to the
18:07
last one, can we share a little bit more about
18:10
the error of the tongue and the lung? You shared
18:14
a great... that this wasn't originally supposed
18:18
to look like this. Yes. Or it wasn't supposed
18:20
to be produced like this. No, no, no, it was
18:22
not. I mean, that's the cool thing about the
18:25
print project. It's like, again, people arrive
18:27
with different ideas of how they want to be made,
18:29
but then things can change because of things
18:32
that are beyond your control. So, like, when
18:33
Ayanna came to Brandy, went to produce this print,
18:36
the press, the offset press that everybody used
18:39
to use to produce the prints was broken. So at
18:44
Brandy, one of the time, the artists came for
18:47
one week to produce their projects. And unlike
18:49
other print shops where you create what's called
18:54
a BAT. A bonnetier. We're going to get into some
19:00
technicality. No, yes. Oh, the audience loves
19:03
the technicality. Inside baseball, let's do this.
19:05
Yes. All right, I'm going to backtrack a little
19:07
bit, then, Gustavo. Go ahead, go ahead. And please,
19:10
I'm not an artist, nor am I a printer, so you
19:13
correct me, okay? Yes. So when an artist arrives,
19:17
they'll have a vision oftentimes, and whether
19:19
the vision is solidified or has to change, to
19:23
get to the final print, there goes through many
19:26
different trials. We call them proofs. It goes
19:32
through many different iterations. And the artist
19:35
is working with the printer on color, quality
19:39
of line, texture, visual texture. And we have
19:44
to also remember that a color print like this
19:46
is built up from many layers. So they're working
19:49
on these trials over and over and over again.
19:53
until perhaps either they've hit the end of the
19:56
road or they hit a time limit. And at a certain
20:00
point, the artist says, this is as close to my
20:02
vision or this is my vision of what I want my
20:05
final impression to look like. And they call
20:08
that the B .A .T. That's the one in which artist
20:11
and printer have come to terms. The artist has
20:13
said, yes, this is what I want it to be and signs
20:16
off. Good to print. Good to go. Bon attire. Forgive
20:21
my French pronunciation. And so Ayana had signed
20:28
off. No. So all of that was just Lauren described.
20:34
A lot of times it gets dependent because there
20:37
is no right way to do it. A lot of the times
20:39
people think there's like a lot of prescriptions
20:40
to do things. There are for certain things. In
20:43
other print shops, basically, you go and you
20:45
do a BAT right at the end of the week. You have
20:48
one. basically, that the artist approved. At
20:52
Brandywine at this time, you build the print
20:56
as you went. So on Monday or Tuesday, you printed
21:00
the first layer for all 60 prints. Then on Wednesday,
21:05
you printed the third layer, second layer, for
21:08
all 60 prints at once. And the artist is responding
21:10
to the layers and working on the print as they're
21:13
being made. So there's no BAT. You're making
21:17
the addition. Oh, wow. And it requires somebody
21:20
with a lot of experience. At the time, I was
21:23
working with Alan Edmonds, who was the founder
21:25
of Brand New and Workshop, and he was guiding
21:27
us. I was printing. Veronica Hansens was also
21:31
printing with me, mixing colors. The artist was
21:34
there watching how we just took these screens
21:37
and turned them into a project as they went.
21:40
And then she was making decisions. You know what?
21:43
Let's try this color. Let's try this other color.
21:46
With offset and with lithography, you can't really
21:48
do that because it takes a lot of time to clean
21:51
up and redo the processes. But with silkscreen,
21:54
you just clean the screen and try a different
21:56
color. It's very quick to switch between things.
21:59
And this artist actually was not very used to
22:03
working with color at the time. And because she
22:07
used to make a lot of monochromatic. When we
22:09
started suggesting colors, when we started doing
22:11
things, she was like, wait, wait, wait, wait.
22:12
I've never really worked with this many colors
22:14
in my practice. So it was like a moment of vulnerability
22:18
where you're, you know, learning from each other.
22:20
And she trusted us to guide her and to create
22:24
a beautiful project, a beautiful installation
22:26
of prints that resulted in like, I think. 90
22:29
-12 variations of the print. So we started with
22:32
the text, the era of the tongue and lung, and
22:36
then that was broken into four different screens
22:38
that were originally supposed to be turned into
22:41
lithos plates, and basically one set of colors.
22:44
But now we turned it, because it was silkscreen,
22:46
we turned it into many different variations and
22:48
additions of it, which was really cool. And it
22:51
was just like, again... You're watching as the
22:54
print is being built. And this was my first time
22:57
actually seeing this because I was still a student
23:00
at Tyler at the time. Oh, wow. I was in my second
23:03
senior year. As we have. Who among us hasn't
23:08
been there? I was in my second senior year. And
23:12
so when the press was broken at Brandywine and
23:15
the master printer there at the time, his name
23:18
is Robert Franklin. We knew him as Bob. Bob didn't
23:22
know how to do silkscreen. So Alan was going
23:24
to be like, you know, I'm going to print it out.
23:26
And then he looked at me and was like, do you
23:27
know how to print silkscreen? I was like. Yeah?
23:31
So I just, like, dove right in, you know, working
23:34
with Ayana and Veronica, and we pulled this project
23:37
together in a week, basically. And it was really,
23:41
really cool to see this, you know, develop over
23:43
the days and all the experimentation that went
23:46
along and the variations. And, like, even sitting
23:49
down with the, you know, while you're waiting
23:51
to make decisions or while your things are drying,
23:53
you're waiting and talking to the artist and
23:54
just having conversations about anything. And
23:57
the reason why this print is here, too, is, The
23:59
privilege of working in a print project is that
24:02
the master printer or the printers that work
24:05
in the projects, they get to keep a print. And
24:08
that's a practice that has gone well regarded
24:11
across the print field is that, you know, because
24:15
you've put so much of your effort and you've
24:17
shared your expertise with these artists, you
24:20
get to keep a copy, a version of the print. So
24:24
that's why it's here because this is the copy
24:26
that I was able to get. from that project. Oh,
24:28
that's great. So where can you find this in your
24:31
own? I mean, there's different collections around
24:33
the country that have this print. I can't remember
24:37
off the top of my head, but the same way that
24:39
we're watching this print here in the studio,
24:41
people can go in the National Gallery and look
24:44
at Robert Pruitt, the same Robert Pruitt that
24:47
we have here in the studio. is at the National
24:49
Gallery. It's in RISD museums. It's in Harvard
24:53
museums. So all these people can have access
24:56
to this wonderful work, and that's the beauty
24:58
of this process, is that it's democratic because
25:01
of that. It allows access. Before Robert broke
25:05
in, Lauren, you were taking us through the stack
25:10
of prints we have here, and I think you were
25:13
getting to the last two? Yes. And I'm going to
25:19
apologize to your listeners because there's crinkling.
25:21
If they hear crinkling, it's because we're handling
25:24
the prince. It's protection. Yes, yes. The last
25:28
two impressions that Gustavo brought are both
25:32
by artist Robert Pruitt. And they're these portraits
25:37
based on war posters from the 1930s that were
25:43
made to enlist individuals into combat. but rather,
25:48
in this case, the artist is envisioning a future
25:53
informed by science fiction, in which science
25:57
fiction has given way to a future commandeered
26:03
by space pilots and space engineers. We see a
26:08
regal black figure wearing a uniform, holding
26:14
her helmet. with spacecrafts behind her, which
26:18
she'll inevitably driving on her own. I like
26:21
that it's a woman, woman in STEM. That's right.
26:23
That's exactly right. Yes. So good. What I remember
26:28
from this project, too, because, again, these
26:30
projects happen when I... basically was just
26:33
starting up brand new in around 2012. I remember
26:36
the initial conversations I had with Alan because
26:38
I actually never got to meet the artist because
26:40
I worked in the back behind the scenes putting
26:42
a lot of stuff together and I had to leave for
26:44
like a week while they came. I remember that
26:47
we're talking about how the artist is known for
26:50
making these really large scales drawings very
26:53
big ones like five six feet. seven feet big and
26:57
you know they look like almost like banners and
26:58
they're these beautiful imposing portraits he
27:01
the ideas that he came with is like he wanted
27:03
to reinterpret a lot of the propaganda enlistment
27:06
posters that were happening because of the world
27:09
wars right so he took the language of that and
27:12
in some ways he was speaking about trying to
27:15
create his own narrative and not let others create
27:19
the narrative for him and and looking into like
27:22
an afrofuturist vision of what African Americans,
27:26
black people could be and reimagine them as astronauts,
27:31
star pilots, as mechanics, all these things that
27:34
break away from the stereotypes that were, you
27:37
know, built over the years and stuff like that.
27:39
So this is him, like, telling people to reimagine
27:41
themselves and become something beyond what the
27:45
labels are being told that they should be in
27:47
some ways. And this brings me back to the exhibition,
27:51
America Today, Voices in Contemporary Print.
27:54
And I think is a good jumping off point because
27:57
this is an exhibition talking about civic concerns
28:00
and civic ideals. And what's at the heart of
28:05
this is that artists have the freedom to envision
28:09
new futures, draw our attention to historic injustice,
28:14
and force us to confront the ways we straddle
28:19
the past and future in the present. that the
28:23
injustices of the present can be defined and
28:27
can be observed and can be named. They can be
28:31
drawn abstractly or with representation. They
28:33
can be didactic or oblique. But the prints in
28:37
the exhibition point to specifics, specific moments
28:41
in time, specific tragedies. They also have moments
28:46
of pause and reflection on the ways in which
28:50
communities have come together to forge solidarity.
28:53
And then the ways in which individual artists
28:56
have been inspired by matriarchs, by new futures,
29:01
by communing, to offer us moments to do the same.
29:07
A cool project to talk about, which I also brought,
29:10
is the Cedric Huckabee's 99%. Because that project
29:15
kind of stemmed, the ideas of it stemmed from
29:18
the Occupy Wall Street. I don't know if you guys
29:20
remember. I remember. Occupy Wall Street and,
29:23
you know, all the protests that were happening,
29:25
the demonstrations about, like, you know, the
29:27
wealth gap was very much in front of us. And
29:31
he's based in Texas. I think he's based in Fort
29:34
Worth, Texas. And, you know, he was watching
29:37
all this stuff happening in New York. And he
29:40
was like, hmm. I wonder what the 99 % looks like
29:43
in my community. So he went out of his house
29:47
and started, like, interviewing neighbors, started,
29:50
you know, went to the barbershop, went to all
29:52
these places where, you know, he talked to people,
29:55
the people that made up his community and stuff,
29:57
and just brought a sketchbook and sat with them
29:59
for hours just listening to them talk and the
30:02
stories that they were telling him. And as he
30:04
was drawing them, he would write down quotes
30:07
that stood out from the conversations. You know,
30:15
this sketchbook, this thick sketchbook of just
30:17
these portraits. And he was like, I want to do
30:20
a project like this. And we all looked at each
30:23
other. I was like, I don't know how we're going
30:26
to do this. But Alan, expertly, he had been doing
30:28
this already for 40 years, 40 plus years. He
30:31
was like, all right. Let's figure out how we're
30:34
going to break these things down. And the project
30:37
ended up in 101 prints, all printed over a span
30:41
of two years. You know, he wouldn't come for,
30:44
you know, a week or two during that period and
30:47
just sit from 8 in the morning to almost 8 p
30:50
.m., just drawing, translating this sketchbook.
30:53
into the the films that are necessary for you
30:56
to produce the lithos and it's super labor intensive
30:59
and we were there next to him the whole time
31:01
just like helping him improving and looking at
31:03
the things and then the other thing too that
31:05
happens is like you get carried away and like
31:08
again this is part of building the plane as you're
31:10
flying it right first we were like all right
31:13
we're just gonna do two colors you know two black
31:15
and whites and stuff and it'll be done it'll
31:18
take two weeks no problem whatever But because
31:21
it's just like the potential was there and he
31:24
was so willing to work with the project that
31:26
it ended up being like nine, ten colors. I don't
31:30
even know how many layers in the end of just
31:33
monochrome, just blacks and whites and different
31:37
variations of it. And so like they look very
31:39
like paintings almost like his work. He's known
31:42
as a painter and his paintings have a lot of
31:45
body because they're built up with a lot of paint.
31:47
So it looks like the work that he's done. in
31:50
his regular day -to -day practice and he wasn't
31:52
he's not a printmaker right he doesn't he didn't
31:54
he was like we're gonna do what and uh you know
31:57
so I was like yeah you have to draw these this
31:59
way and like don't fill them up too much because
32:01
we have to layer them and separate the colors
32:04
to make them a print and it was super cool just
32:08
to see because again he was such a good artist
32:10
such a good person that the project just extended
32:14
and extended and extended until we had the perfect
32:15
set of prints. Wow. You get to have such an intimate
32:20
relationship with these artists. No, and the
32:22
other thing too is his wife is also an artist
32:24
and had also done a residency before him at Brandywine.
32:28
So she came first. I wasn't there at the time.
32:31
This beautiful print about their daughter. So
32:34
it's like a family... enterprise in some ways
32:37
like you know they get to be part of this collection
32:39
as a family in some ways i don't know how old
32:41
the daughter is now she's probably out of college
32:43
at this point his wife started talking about
32:45
like the way that the work that cedric did that
32:48
he eventually was written to a grant to be part
32:50
of this exhibit that was going to take place
32:52
at uh in delaware um university museums i forget
32:55
the name of the institution but you know that
32:57
was part of the uh how he ended up at brand new
33:00
when it was through this this grant and stuff
33:02
so wow So as I mentioned earlier on in our conversation
33:06
that all the prints for the show come from six
33:10
partner workshops. And I think what we're starting
33:13
to hear and learn from Gustavo's reflection on
33:17
the work that he did with collaborating with
33:19
artists is that there are these communities that
33:22
build through this networking, through the affinity
33:26
of goal and commitment. to art and art making,
33:31
but also to uplifting other artists within an
33:34
extended network. So the six partner workshops
33:38
that I mentioned across the United States were
33:42
all founded for the most part during various
33:46
kinds of... advocate moments or activist moments,
33:49
whether it be Blackburn Workshop, which was founded
33:53
in 1947 and started to thrive through the civil
33:56
rights movement and beyond. It's still, it's
33:59
our oldest continuous community printmaking workshop.
34:03
Or during the 1970s when Brandywine was focused
34:07
to really serve and advance the work of artists
34:10
of color. Or self -help graphics, which was a
34:14
kind of emerged from the Chicano movement in
34:16
Los Angeles. Or Women's Studio Workshop in upstate
34:20
New York that itself was founded by four feminists.
34:24
And this legacy is very unique in the United
34:27
States. And so this exhibition is about... but
34:31
it's also about political voice and recognizing
34:34
the mutual care that artists in printmaking workshops
34:38
and the technicians and the founders and the
34:42
communities that surround these shops are interdependent,
34:45
that they uplift one another. And we are so lucky
34:50
to have Brandywine in Philadelphia, the foresight
34:53
of Alan Edmonds, who himself had looked to Robert
34:57
Blackburn, the founder of Blackburn Workshop.
35:00
Or alternatively, for example, with the establishment
35:03
of Self Hub Graphics, a vital screen print studio
35:06
that was really about reviving and uplifting
35:10
Chicano voices, traditional arts from coming
35:14
out of that community, like the Day of the Dead
35:16
processional, and the precedent that they set
35:18
for a figure like Pepe Coronado, another one
35:21
of our featured workshops, who a generation,
35:24
two generations younger, but does similar work
35:27
in East Austin. for the Tejano community that
35:31
he's embedded in. And I think interconnected
35:35
is a really good descriptor for the shops, too,
35:39
because just from my experience working at Brandywine,
35:42
I learned that at least Brandywine, Self -Help
35:46
Graphics, and the Robert Blackburn Workshop have
35:50
this very intimate relationship because Alan,
35:53
the founder, was inspired by the Robert Blackburn
35:56
because he went to New York as a student at Tyler.
35:59
Another Tyler plug. And saw the magic that was
36:05
happening in the studio where Blackburn had artists
36:10
from all over the world just working and producing
36:13
prints. There was artists from Chile, from Europe,
36:17
from all these places just in one space making
36:22
these beautiful prints and just having conversations,
36:25
learning from each other, bringing... you know,
36:29
culture to New York and then embedding it into
36:33
the print work. Then Alan and sister Karen Bacalera,
36:38
which is the founder of Self -Help Graphics,
36:41
went to Rome together as students. She was a
36:44
graduate student and he was an undergrad. So
36:48
they both talked about how they wanted to do
36:50
something similar, to create workshops that responded
36:54
to the moment. So Sister Karen Bacalera went
36:57
back to L .A., Alan came back to Philly, and
37:01
at 22 he founded Brandywine Workshop and Art.
37:03
Sister Karen Bacalera went back to L .A. and
37:06
founded Self Help Graphics, and they have such
37:10
a rich history. you know, engaging their community
37:13
around through so many different ways. But that's
37:15
what's possible in this. Everybody knows each
37:17
other. Yes. Gustavo, what have you been up to
37:24
post Brandywine? Oh, a lot of things. I've always
37:26
been up to Brandywine. Because, again, as I said
37:29
earlier before, right, the arts have allowed
37:31
me, and I think allow anybody, to identify themselves
37:35
as many selves. You can call yourself a photographer,
37:39
designer. You can call yourself... At the same
37:41
time, because you can be working on so many different
37:44
projects, right? So while I was still at Brandywine,
37:47
I started developing my photography and video
37:50
practice. And eventually, after I left... The
37:54
workshop, I continued with my business called
37:57
Colibri Workshop, which specializes in doing
38:00
video production and photography. I get to continue
38:03
to collaborate. If there's a thread between what
38:05
I do now and what I did at Brandywine, is we
38:09
work with some of the most interesting people
38:12
out there and listen to their stories and then
38:16
create something from those stories to share
38:18
back to the world. So I work with like the PA
38:22
Innocence Project, the Innocence Project in New
38:24
York. I work a lot with Mural Arts Philadelphia
38:26
with their artists and muralists. I get to talk
38:30
to all the executive directors because in the
38:33
city, which is really cool to gain an insight
38:36
into all these experts, right? So that's kind
38:39
of what I've been doing is just making videos
38:40
and photo projects for all these people. Lauren
38:44
and Gustavo, thank you so much for the conversation
38:46
today. Are there any other additional projects
38:49
that you have coming up? As I mentioned, our
38:52
exhibition, America Today, Voices in Contemporary
38:55
Print, runs through the end of July. On Saturday,
38:58
July 11th, we're going to have a community printmaking
39:01
day at Brandywine Workshop. We'll be joined by
39:04
other community -based print studios from across
39:06
our city to offer hands -on activities for printmakers
39:10
of all ages, the youngest to the oldest. We'll
39:13
all be set up at Brandywine. You'll also be able
39:15
to have a chance to walk through the exhibitions
39:17
they'll have on view, as well as have a tour
39:20
of their studio. We're hoping to have some ice
39:23
cream. Nice! to be determined but we would love
39:26
to see you there meet you with you and help you
39:29
understand even more the kind of possibilities
39:31
of printmaking so I think you can you can find
39:35
my work and my collaborators work because I don't
39:38
work just by myself again it's all a collaborative
39:41
practice right I work with photographers and
39:43
video producers from all over the city you can
39:46
find our work On mural arts websites. You can
39:49
find our work at the Innocence Project's websites.
39:52
You can find our work in the Enquirer. You can
39:54
find our work everywhere. You can find your work
39:56
on the Print Center's website. I found it there.
39:58
There you go, too. You're very sneaky online.
40:01
Yes. And I like it. Yes. You can follow our Instagram
40:10
at ColibriWorks. All right. And I'll link those
40:12
in the show notes. And, Lauren, where can we
40:16
find the Print Center? You can find us at printcenter
40:19
.org or theprintcenter on Instagram. Excellent.
40:24
And we'll be right back with rapid fire questions.
40:36
And we're back with rapid fire questions with
40:39
Lauren and Gustavo. We're going to do a this
40:42
or that series. MoMA or Matt? MoMA. PMA or the
40:48
Barnes? PMA. LACMA or Museum of Contemporary
40:52
Art? LACMA. LACMA. Set the scene, the PMA is
40:56
on fire, and you have the ability to save one
40:58
piece of art. The Moorish King. Damn, that's
41:01
good. Your turn. A Cornell box. Land the plane,
41:04
Robert. Well done, everyone. Thank you again,
41:07
and thank you for having the conversation today.
41:10
Everyone, check out the Print Centers. America
41:14
Today, Voices in Contemporary Print. Second Thursday,
41:30
this Thursday, there are several shows at the
41:33
Crane Arts Building, brand new and ongoing, all
41:37
open for reception. Give it to us. Now, one with
41:40
everyone, opening reception at Icebox Project
41:44
Space, brand spanking new. Materia, works by
41:48
Abby Lakey, recently opened at Tiger Strikes
41:52
Asteroid. Negotiation, recently opened at Automat.
41:57
Liberty and Justice was open during the last
41:59
second Thursday and remains open at Box Spring
42:02
Gallery. Future Past Present, a group show, was
42:06
open during last second Thursday, remains open
42:08
in Liquid, but will be closing on July 11th.
42:11
TikTok, really. Philadelphia at 250. Living Room.
42:16
A community -built exhibition celebrating the
42:20
makers, artists, and storytellers is opening
42:22
this second Thursday at NextFab. The DaVinci
42:26
Art Alliance Art -A -Thon is this Saturday into
42:29
Sunday. For an entire day, DVAA will open its
42:32
doors for 24 straight hours of art, community
42:36
workshops, and controlled chaos. And we might
42:39
be hosting an hour? Stand by for the controlled
42:42
chaos. Ballet X's summer series running from
42:46
July 15th through the 19th at the Suzanne Roberts
42:49
Theater. Didn't you try to take your son to the
42:52
summer series matinee two years ago? Never fucking
42:55
forget. And if the conversation in today's episode
42:58
did not inspire you to visit America Today, Voices
43:02
in Contemporary Print at the Print Center, perhaps
43:05
you should re -listen to it. This show at the
43:08
Print Center is in its last few weeks. And with
43:12
that... Billy has heart. And heart! for tuning
43:46
in to philly has heart where we get to know the
43:49
people at the heart of philadelphia culture follow
43:52
us share the love and tune in on thursdays for
43:55
your weekly cultural update