Photos from the Mail Art Show

The Exhibition Initiative recently curated “The Mail Art Show,” a selection of works from the thousands available in the Oberlin College Library Mail Art Collection housed in the Art Library. Mail art is a worldwide cultural movement that began in the early 1960s and reached its peak of popularity in the 80s. It involves sending visual art through the international postal system in an effort to create a network of artists.  Below are some photographs from the opening November 12th.

 

Here are a couple photos from the event.

 

Eight of the fourteen curators who created The Mail Art Show.

 

 

 

The Art of Letterpress survives in this Digital Age

A Letterpress Shop Survives, Printing Poems in

the Era of YouTube

By Lawrence Biemiller

So to come upon a place like Naropa University, where poetry is written and read and listened to and discussed, is a delight. And then to get a tour of Naropa’s Harry Smith Print Shop, where verse is lovingly printed—with old metal type and antique presses, yet—well, it’s both Disneyland and Dollywood for dactyl addicts, an enchanted kingdom of fonts and figures. I could gladly have spent hours pulling out drawers of type (Caslon, Garamond, Perpetua, Valiant, Van Dijk), leafing through chapbooks and broadsides, poking among ornaments. Everywhere I looked something caught my eye—poems tacked to the walls, pica rulers, paper cutters, Celtic capitals.

To read the rest of the article visit: http://chronicle.com/blogs/postcards/a-letterpress-shop-survives-printing-poems-in-the-era-of-youtube/654?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

 

Did you know that Oberlin has a letterpress studio too? Check it out, 2nd Floor of Mudd Library!

 

Silver Swan Automatron

Read more about it here: http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/about/collections/the-silver-swan/history/

 

Europeana: think culture

http://www.europeana.eu/portal/index.html

From the About Us:

Europeana enables people to explore the digital resources of Europe’s museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections.

It promotes discovery and networking opportunities in a multilingual space where users can engage, share in and be inspired by the rich diversity of Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage.

Ideas and inspiration can be found within the more than 14.6 million items on Europeana. These objects include:

• Images – paintings, drawings, maps, photos and pictures of museum objects
• Texts – books, newspapers, letters, diaries and archival papers
• Sounds – music and spoken word from cylinders, tapes, discs and radio broadcasts
• Videos – films, newsreels and TV broadcasts

Around 1500 institutions have contributed to Europeana. Renowned names such as the British Library in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris are featured alongside smaller organisations across Europe. Together, their assembled collections allow you to explore Europe’s history from ancient times to the modern day.

 

UPCOMING

UPCOMING LUCE EVENTS
DECEMBER 5 & 6 @ 7PM

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WHAT: Filmmaker BRIAN SPINGER screens his monumental film, SPIN.  Q/A with filmmaker following the film.
WHERE: HALLOCK AUDITORIUM, @ LEWIS CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
WHEN: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2010 @ 7PM

ABOUT SPIN:
From the “Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age” Exhibition website:
Using the 1992 presidential election as his springboard, documentary filmmaker Brian Springer captures the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of politicians and newscasters in the early 1990s. Pat Robertson banters about “homos,” Al Gore learns how to avoid abortion questions, George Bush talks to Larry King about halcyon — all presuming they’re off camera. Composed of 100% unauthorized satellite footage, Spin is a surreal expose of media-constructed reality.
From the Video Data Bank website:
Pirated satellite feeds revealing U.S. media personalities’ contempt for their viewers come full circle in Spin. TV out-takes appropriated from network satellite feeds unravel the tightly-spun fabric of television—a system that silences public debate and enforces the exclusion of anyone outside the pack of journalists, politicians, spin doctors, and televangelists who manufacture the news. Spin moves through the L.A. riots and the floating TV talk-show called the 1992 U.S. presidential election.
+++ Brian Springer and Chris Hill of Yellow Springs, Ohio, have been the Luce Visiting Artists here at Oberlin College throughout the fall semester, working with students on media projects and sharing their own research with our classes.  In the spring, Chris Hill will share her work and research with us.+++
For Chris’ and Brian’s bios, check out the Margin Release Lecture Series Website, here:
http://www.juliachristensen.com/margin/margin.html

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WHAT: The ECAMP/MARGIN RELEASE: (EXQUISITE) FINAL SHOW
WHERE: FISHER GALLERY, @ ART BUILDING
WHEN: MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010 @ 7PM

From HTML Exquisite Corpse, by students of ECAMP 2010

ABOUT THE SHOW:
The students from the ECAMP (Experimental Collaboration in Art, Music and Performance), and the Margin Release “Archives” classes will show new work from the semester in their Fall 2010 show.  From instruments made of wood and electronics to choreographed videos that interact with each other, from libraries of rainwater to museums of gravestones, these projects explore collaboration, collections, and media.  The students have combined video, sound, sculpture, works on paper, photography, drawing, movement, choreography, floor sensors, and more to create this exquisite exhibition.  Luce Visiting Artists Chris Hill and Brian Springer will attend the show to continue their discussions with the students, and meet the Oberlin community.

 

Integrated Media Candidate Presentations

The remaining three candidates for the “Integrated Media” position will be presenting their work and ideas to the Art Department faculty and students TOMORROW and next week:

“Integrated Media” Candidate Presentations
TIME: 4:45

PLACE:  Classroom 062, Art Building lower level

Each presentation will be followed by a dialogue between the candidate and students.  Pizza and sodas will be served.

Thursday, 12/02 Andrew Dimerjian
Monday,  12/06 Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Wednesday, 12/08 Bart Woodstrup