As letterpress printers, we make it our focus to ensure that the type absolutely does not move while it is in use in a printing press. So, to see and hear type moving in the animated shorts made by experimental filmmaker Judith Poirier is surprising and noisy and delightful.
Poirier is a filmmaker, graphic designer, and professor at École de Design, Université du Québec à Montréal. She spent two weeks in Nashville this summer to create work that merges filmmaking and letterpress printing for a show in our Haley Gallery this October.
During her visit with us in July, Judith stayed busy. She started by exploring the entire wall o’ type, from top to bottom.
This shop is fortunate to have presses that can print our large blocks, as well as large formes, and we are so glad that our visiting artists take advantage of it, too.
Some of the one-sheet blocks that were considered for inclusion in Judith’s work.
Judith studied with Alan Kitching, and a practice that we all share is hand inking and proofing, to work with the physical layers of print work before setting anything into the press bed.
Proofing, proofing, proofing
Judith reviewing proofs
Judith cast a wide net, and then whittled the selections down to make the most impact with the final work. We set her up in the back of the shop so that she could spread out and concentrate, but still be part of the daily activity for two weeks.
Our two largest presses made it possible for Judith to make large prints. Designer-Printer Cathy assisted on one run, where the paper had to be laid directly onto the block in the press bed.
You’ll have to visit the gallery in October to see all of the striking print work that came out of this year’s artist residency, and here are a few details to pique your interest.
Join us on October 7, 2017, at 5:00 PM, for an artist’s talk, to see Judith’s films and hear more about her process. It will be followed by an opening reception, where you can view the work in the gallery, meet the artist, and have a bite and glass of wine during First Saturday Art Crawl, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
