The Print Cast

Episode 9 of The Print Cast features a discussion with John Pusateri and Jan Philip Raath who together run Auckland Print Studio in Point Chevalier, New Zealand. It's one of the few studios in NZ offering litho, intaglio, relief and other print services to artists who want to create editions. We talk business models as they try to search for a way to move forward towards sustainability with print sales and program expansion. It is never clear what the most optimal model is for running a shop, but after 10 years they have created a solid foundation for their next steps forward. If you've ever been curious what it would take to do printmaking in far-off locales, this one is for you.

Check out Auckland Print Studio on Instagram.
See their services and learn about their residency.

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In Part 2 of Nick's interview with Enrique Chagoya, they do a deep dive into his art. They discuss the history of the codex book format, dating back to pre-columbian times, and why it's a relevant format for Chagoya's art. If you recall, it was a lithographic codex that was vandalized in Loveland, Colorado, and we recounted the entire incident in Part 1 of this interview. We go on to talk about appropriation and specifically artists who create art on top of other artists' work. Chagoya calls prints unique multiples, which implies they possess a similar aura like that of unique works of art. The artist shares how he maintains work-life balance, why meditation helps his daily life, and how he keeps going with a busy teaching and art career. 

Nick sits down with artist Enrique Chagoya, in Part 1 of a two-part series. Enrique Chagoya is an artist who inverts cultural appropriation in a manner he calls “Reverse Anthropology”.  With a deft wit, his paintings, drawings, prints and codices use “symbols as one would use words in a sentence,” often with hilarious and biting results. At times his art can even arouse misinterpretation, negative press, and even vandalism. Nevertheless he persists and continues to tackle subjects like sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, racism, xenophobia, and pop culture, to name a few. Present in all of his work is humor, thoughtful juxtapositions, and myriad references harkening back to other artists’ work, pop icons, figures of government, and his Mexican heritage. It can be disarming to view his work, where you might be laughing and unsettled at the same time. And that is the power of his art; it is intended not to change minds but provoke conversation and dialog.

Chagoya is currently Professor of Art at Stanford University. His work has been shown internationally and is represented in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the LA County Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, the Des Moines Art Center, the Whitney, MOMA, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Check out his work here.
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Imagine a space where you can spend an afternoon screen printing your own band merch? Or finally learn how to use a Risograph machine to print your own zine? Maybe you want to enroll in a class; maybe make an etching or a woodcut? It can be difficult to find the space and amass the needed tools and learning the techniques is another huge hurdle. Today in Los Angeles, there is one place where you can attempt to do all of that and more. Nestled in Chinatown, sharing a space with an art book seller A.G. Geiger, 4 artists run a communal printmaking studio called Printshop LA. These artists come from diverse backgrounds with personal art practices that dovetail with the mission of the shop. It reflects the vitality of LA’s art scene where artists often have to join forces to make an impact and create opportunities. By combining business models, they not only enhance their individual practices but also extend a lifeline to artists and the public who would love to share their equipment and resources. Printshop LA is Michelle Miller, Jayse Caitlin, Sean Hernandez and Dave Kloc. I welcome three of the four founding members today where we’ll talk about their pursuit of making printmaking accessible in Los Angeles.

Check out all three artists on Instagram
Press Friends aka Sean Hernandez
Heavy Gel aka Jayse Caitlin
Michelle Miller
Printshop LA

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Margot Myers joins the show to discuss site a specific installation and what it’s like to be a volunteer board member for the largest printmaking conference in the US. 
She is an intaglio print artist working in Bellingham, Washington, running a studio called Runaway Press where she creates her work, maintains a thriving batik business, and offers classes and events. Margot is also a volunteer board member for Southern Graphics Conference International and is serving a two-year term as treasurer for the non-profit that runs the event. 
With the 2019 conference recently taking place in Dallas, Texas, I invited her onto the show to tell me about her work on the board and what it’s like to help stage the conference versus attending. She gives some perspective on this year's event and gives us an eye into what we can expect in the years to come. We discuss programming, and particularly how the conference strives to provide content for all types of audiences including for first-timers like her student who joined her this year. Margot also installed a large scale print-stallation on an outdoor staircase this year, and she shares how that experience opened her eyes to the dynamics of foot traffic and whether or not viewers choose to tread on the art itself. She is interested in how some passers by avoid walking on the work, while others are oblivious to what is under their feet as they ascend the stairs. 
This is a great episode for anyone who is curious about how art non-profits work, especially organizations that turn over their leadership every two years. How do they create continuity? Do they have systems that help one year inform the next? Steering committees for each new city change over as well, thus leaving each year to define itself in its local context. 
The next conference is going to be in San Juan, Puerto Rico and it’s the first time that the organization is bringing the event to that territory. That conference is being called Puertografico and information to participate should be available soon. 

More info about SGCI: www.sgcinternational.org

Follow Margot: @runaway.press

Check out her work: www.runaway.press

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Starting a letterpress shop isn't easy, and it takes time. In this episode I talk with Andrew Myers and Joey Gross of Public Print and Supply Co in Kansas City. They're a new printshop in town, but not new to the print game. With three months under their belts, we discuss the difficulty of self branding and previous businesses and shops where they both have worked. I inquire about the types of business they want to cater to, but also what they see for the future. With the start up phase of any business being rather mercurial, the future could result in many outcomes. It's an exciting time for Joey and Andrew and this episode gives us a tiny view of what it's like behind the press in a new studio and what that looks like in the early stages of development. 

Public Print and Supply Co is Andrew Myers and Joey Gross (formerly of Survival Letterpress) and is located in the West Bottoms district in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Episode 3 of The Print Cast features an interview with painter Sandow Birk and ceramicist Elyse Pignolet; two artists who collaborate in marriage and in art. We talk about their numerous large scale printmaking projects over the years. Working with Master Printer workshops they execute intaglio, relief and lithographic editions delving into political topics ranging from war, democracy, to the constitution. By appropriating formats, compositions, and production methods from historical artists and printmakers, they manage to create art that is poignant and contemporary while also being timeless. 
We discuss projects like their woodcut Depravities of War, Imaginary Monuments, and their recent project American Procession. It's a great interview and gives a lot of perspective on the Master Printer and artist relationship from the artist's point of view. They also demonstrate the power of collaboration in art and in a marriage where two creatives are making powerful work for themselves and as a unit. 

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Tveit is a sculptor interested in consumer goods and the manufactured landscape. She visited the pod in early 2018 to discuss her latest exhibition Universal Boxes at Johnson Country Museum of Art in Overland Park, Kansas. We discuss her previous large scale projects like Field Test, Product Placement, and United/Divided and discuss connections between those varied and intensive works and how they solidified the platform she is using in her latest cardboard sculptures. Her art reflects on what we consume, how we consume it, and what work means to her today.
Check out the show notes to see some of her latest works.

In this Print Cast extra, we want to share a priceless bit of audio that didn't make it into the full length episode with our guest Hugh Merrill. Most people talk about what they ate for breakfast, but Hugh warms up the mic by reciting poetry, and his voice is like gold. We had some fun dressing up the audio and hope everyone enjoys it. Also included is some general information about how to support the podcast by sharing about it on social media, reviewing and rating us on your favorite podcast platform, and donating via Patreon (http://patreon.com/theprintcast/) where these extras will be available to all donor levels.