International Conference - Password: Printmaking

Friday, 7 March 2014, 9:00am - 6:00pm
Auditorium of the Museum of Modern Art (Moderna galerija), Cankarjeva street 15, Ljubljana

admission free

The conference is a part of the project Password: printmaking, travelling exhibition and art residencies and is executed with the support of the European Commission. The project has started in 2012 and will come to closure in April 2014.

The fact remains that printmaking is a medium that, bound to a time-consuming process and insight of a breadth of mechanical and chemical knowledge and skills, co-exists in contemporary artistic expression. It may not be the center of attention, it may even be a kind of "endangered species" excluded from most of the major events within contemporary art, but does this mean that its art is not alive and has no power to influence how we see things and think about them, which is the essence of art? This question encouraged six European partners that have traditionally dealt with the research, promotion, collection and/or production of modern and contemporary fine art printmaking and art publications to run the project. Partners have outlined a project placing art residencies and the travelling exhibition for central activities. Residencies are focused on research, production and critical thought in the field of graphic arts and art publications. In February 2014 Spanish artist Elia Torrecilla will be the artist-in-residence at the MGLC. However, the most visible part of the project Password: Printmaking is the travelling exhibition of contemporary works made by authors of predominantly younger and middle generation. The exhibition has arisen as the answer to challenges of the contemporary graphic arts. Its path has started in April 2013 at the MGLC in Ljubljana, Slovenia and will come to closure on 7 February 2014 with the opening of the Triennial of Graphic Arts in Tallinn, Estonia.

The third and also a very important segment of this European project is the upcoming International Conference Password: Printmaking. The conference aims to highlight various theoretical and practical perspectives on some eternally topical issues related to our understanding of printmaking and printed art in the changing environment of contemporary art production. The participation on the conference has been confirmed by leading scholars form the field.

On the International Conference Password: Printmaking

Luis Camnitzer, the Uruguayan artist born in Germany, will inaugurate the conference. In his introduction speech he will use two metaphoric stories - a story about fencing (that will serve as a metaphor for crafts) and a story about Google (that will serve as a metaphor for defining a context for the application of those crafts).

The first part of the Conference will focus on role of print in contemporary art practice. Professor of Fine Arts at the Univerity of Arts London, Paul Coldwell, will present a wide spectrum of activities of the contemporary graphic arts covering topics from various prints to fine art graphics. He will also expose the importance of the special print curator whose role has been repeatedly overlooked. Javier Martín-Jiménez, curator and president of the association Hablar in Arte, Madrid, has taken Francisco de Goya?s famous prints as an example for justifying the power of image within the multiplicative art works and related them to the activities of the Calcografía Nacional, the central Spanish institution for graphic arts. Further on, the word will be given to art critic, theoretician, and curator from Poland Marta Anna Raczek-Karcz. In her speech she will analyze an impact of new media on graphic arts and try to explain what the term "digital graphics" actually stands for.

In the second part of the conference, attention will "expand" on exploration of borders of graphic arts and the concept of graphic. In this part, the word will be given to the speakers who explore borders of graphics in practice ? that is to authors and artists. Opinions and views on the topic will be shared by:
German artist, Thomas Kilpper, who has built up a mobile printing workshop, which enables him to produce large-size prints at almost any location. Most recently he has participated at the 30th Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, where he created a large-size woodcut - "floorcut".
Carlos Bayod Lucini, architect and director of conservation projects at Factum Arte, Madrid will present one of the most contemporary views on graphic arts - namely, the print as an object. The workshop Factum Arte focuses on mediation and production of 2D and 3D art works and has a reputation for dissolving borders between technology and crafts.
The last speaker of the second part of the Conference will be Michael Schneider, Austrian artist, who has worked intensively in the medium of woodblock printing and has also been involved in non-traditional approaches to printmaking including installation, performance, and sound as an extension of his printmaking practice. In his point of view, printmaking has become a media of choice for all kinds of artists.

The third and the last part of the Conference will cover the topic of the international exhibitions of graphic arts - biennials, triennials and festivals - and the active role they play for graphic arts. The topic will be covered by following speakers: Anthony Gardner, Lecturer of the Contemporary Art History at the Oxford University; Deborah Cullen, Director & Chief Curator of The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University and also a curator of the 30th Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts; Eha Komissarov, curator at the Kumu Art Museum, Estonia; and Nevenka Šivavec, director of the International Centre of Graphic Arts.

Anthony Gardner will address topics, such as international exhibitions in the age of three worlds, internationalism, globalization, and the influence of politics. These topics are crucial for understanding the importance of biennials.
Deborah Cullen will speak about graphics as if it was a way of communication and about printmaking workshops as "contact zones" that have always existed and are still necessary for artists to come together and conduct printmaking practices.
Eha Komissarov will base her speech on the topic of the 16th Tallinn Print Triennial. The Triennial offeres new approach towards the traditional technique by addressing the relationship between visual art and literacy. Her topic, Illiteracy after Literacy, is tensioned by dissagrements and intrigues as artists have different positions and understandings.
Nevenka Šivavec will look upon the local manifiestation trough the hegemony of the graphic medium nad expose the urge for the thorough critical analysis of the Biennial's complex history and the contextualization of its archives and collections.

Conference Schedule

9:00am - 9:35am: Introduction
Introduction greeting by Nevenka Šivavec, director of the MGLC
Introductory speech and the presentation of the program by Breda Škrjanec, Museum Counsellor at the MGLC & project manager of the Password: Printmaking
Introduction to the conference by Luiz Camnitzer, artist

9:35am - 10:35am: The Role of Print in Contemporary Art Practice
Paul Coldwell: The Role of Print within Contemporary Art Practice
Javier Martín-Jiménez: The Power of the Image: Multiplicity in Spanish Emerging Art
Marta Anna Raczek-Karcz: Print it out or leave it as it is! ? some thoughts on what does "digital print" really mean according to digital media art theory

10:35am - 11:00am: Coffee break

11:00am - 12:00am: Exploration of Borders of Graphics and the Concept of Graphic
Thomas Kilpper: Printing on the Move, Movable Printing Projects and Printshops
Carlos Bayod Lucini: The Print as an Object
Michael Schneider: The Challenges of Printmedia

12:00am - 12:15am: Coffee break

12:15am - 1:00pm: Discussion with comments, Moderator: Paul Coldwell

1:00pm - 3:00pm: Lunch break

3:00pm - 5:00pm: History and Future of the International Print Exhibitions (Biennials, Triennials, Festivals)
Anthony Gardner: Reworldings: "World Art Exhibitions in an Age of Three Worlds"
Deborah Cullen: In the Contact Zone: Collaborative Persistence in Traditional and New Media Graphics
Eha Komisarov: Illiteracy after Literacy
Nevenka Šivavec: Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts - Hegemony of a Media

5:00pm - 5:15pm: Coffee break

5:15pm - 6:00pm: Discussion with comments, Moderator: Anthony Gardner

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Accompanying event:
On Thursday, 6 March 2014, at 6:00pm Carlos Bayod Lucini will hold a presentation of the special Lucida 3D Scanner - new technology aimed for printmaking, museums, and cultural heritage management. The presentation will take place at MGLC, Tivoli Mansion, Pod turnom 3, Ljubljana. In cooperation with RogLab and Second Chance. Admission free.

Organization of the Conference:
MGLC - International Centre of Graphic Arts, Tivoli Mansion, Pod turnom 3, Ljubljana
More info: Breda Škrjanec, t: +386 (0)1 2413 805,
breda.skrjanec@mglc-lj.si, www.mglc-lj.si, http://www.facebook.com/PasswordPrintmaking#!/PasswordPrintmaking

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The European project Password: Printmaking, Travelling Exhibition and Art residencies (2012 - 2014) is coordinated by the MGLC. Partners in project: MGLC - International Centre of Graphic Arts (Ljubljana, Slovenia); HAE - Hablar en Arte (Madrid, Spain); FMC - Frans Masereel Centrum (Kasterlee, Belgium); MMSU - Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Rijeka, Croatia); Foundation Tallinn Print Triennial (Tallinn, Estonia); SMTG - International Print Triennial Society (Krakow, Poland).

The project Password: Printmaking, travelling Exhibition and Art Residencies (2012 - 2014) is executed with the support of the European Commission.

With the support of: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, The City of Ljubljana