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karen
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Artist, living in LA http://www.karenkimmel.com/
Aardvark Letterpress Turns 40 in Style.
To know the folks at Aardvark Letterpress is to be a part of some kind of creative extended family. They have been running their wildly inspiring letterpress for 40 years now, cranking out uniquely culled and beautifully hand pressed wedding invites, business cards and baby announcements, but the creative brothers behind this family run business, Cary and Brooks Ocon (sons of Louis Ocon who purchased the company in the 1978) felt it was time to stir it up. So, the boys teamed up with famed artist/photographer Lisa Jane Persky to celebrate their 40th in style. Drawing on their rich American and Mexican lineage they decided to create an original limited edition of fine art works based on the Mexican game of the Loteria.
Tokyo Pequeño by Mel Lim
Hollywood Bowl (Quioscos De Regalo) by Greg Colson
To understand the magnitude of such a project you must take a moment to grasp the skill set needed to run presses of this historical nature. I have personally seen master printers Bill Berkuta, Jorge Estrada and Adan Aragon use paper clips, pieces of gum and snips of cardboard to caress these beautiful behemoths into creative submission. Each color for the press requires a separate plate and considering some artists have upwards of 8-10 colors per piece, at 100 pieces per edition, you do the math. Oh, and by the way, did I mention each color must be hand mixed, after which the entire press must be cleaned and re-prepped for the next plate. In today's talk on the cell phone, while eating lunch and picking up your child at overpriced pre-school, the idea of such time consuming craftsmanship is a downright artistic luxury and I for one was excited to be part of the mix. Here are some pictures of how it went down. Check out all the Loteria cards on the Aardvark's website. The signed and numbered pieces will be sold beginning June 5, 2008.
Dave Lefner's print "El Inverso" rolls off the Vandercook, photo Lisa Jane Persky
Greg Colson's plates, photo Lisa Jane Persky
Brook's power lunch?????
Please pick a color...
Final color for Espejismo (Mirage)
Tokyo Pequeño by Mel Lim
Hollywood Bowl (Quioscos De Regalo) by Greg Colson
To understand the magnitude of such a project you must take a moment to grasp the skill set needed to run presses of this historical nature. I have personally seen master printers Bill Berkuta, Jorge Estrada and Adan Aragon use paper clips, pieces of gum and snips of cardboard to caress these beautiful behemoths into creative submission. Each color for the press requires a separate plate and considering some artists have upwards of 8-10 colors per piece, at 100 pieces per edition, you do the math. Oh, and by the way, did I mention each color must be hand mixed, after which the entire press must be cleaned and re-prepped for the next plate. In today's talk on the cell phone, while eating lunch and picking up your child at overpriced pre-school, the idea of such time consuming craftsmanship is a downright artistic luxury and I for one was excited to be part of the mix. Here are some pictures of how it went down. Check out all the Loteria cards on the Aardvark's website. The signed and numbered pieces will be sold beginning June 5, 2008.
Dave Lefner's print "El Inverso" rolls off the Vandercook, photo Lisa Jane Persky
Greg Colson's plates, photo Lisa Jane Persky
Brook's power lunch?????
Please pick a color...
Final color for Espejismo (Mirage)
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wow, those Ocon bros. must really be cool. i especially liked the sandwich part.