We asked Katherine and Mark about how Flatbed Press developed its ethos, how it has survived over the years, and about that time James Surls got Olympic marksman David Bradshaw to fire nine bullets at his artwork.
Don't miss the final weekend of the East Austin Studio Tour, where you can visit Flatbed Press!
Flatbed Press has hosted an impressive array of artists with incredibly diverse backgrounds. We won’t ask you to choose favorites, but how do you think Flatbed has been shaped by the work of its artist collaborators over the years?
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| Jack Hanley, Plague Doctor (1990) Soft-ground etching and aquatint |
Katherine Brimberry: Each Flatbed artist has brought their own vision, concepts, working practices, and history. One of the pleasures has been to learn and grow through each artist. My job as Master Printer has been to try to think like the artist and find a way to transform their concepts and working practices into one or more printmaking techniques. With every successful collaboration, I have learned something, created a new way of working, found a way to put ideas into print media. I believe that over time, Flatbed’s “style” may seem more varied than many other presses because of our insistence that we meet the artist where they are conceptually instead of giving the artist a formulaic way of working.
Some important collaborations sealed this direction early in our history. Jack Hanley’s work pushed us to try experimental etching techniques. He wanted to be “out of control” with the color field of the etchings we planned. His key plates were extremely controlled soft ground drawings printed over the chaos of the background plates. His concept pushed us to find ways to remove the artist’s direct control of the marks and etch.
Other collaborations were with artists whose work was camped in the nuances of mark making, color, and control. Listening to these artists and striving to meet their standards gave us skill and precision that became the hallmark of our editioning. Working with Melissa Miller on “Anima,” I may have pulled as many as 40 color trial proofs to get to the final solution, leveraging her discipline as an artist to do whatever it took to get to a successful print.
Mark Lesly Smith: Flatbed hasn't been just "shaped" by its artist collaborators over the years, it has been created by them!
One of the things that has made Flatbed so successful has been the incredible variety of artists. Of course, we have always tried to work with artists of high artistic value, but the range of their work has been all over the map. It has made the work extremely enjoyable and interesting, and I think has established Flatbed as a very open shop that is diverse in every way, artistically and otherwise.
Flatbed feels more like a living, breathing organism than an institution. Over the course of its life, what periods of growth do you identify as the most transformative?
KB: We never set out to be an institution and I am happy that it doesn’t feel that way. Beginning as a “Mom and Pop” styled business with two people who shared a love a printmaking but divided the work load made us more like a family. When Jerry Manson became a business partner in late 1990, the printmaking family expanded. Printers and interns came to us to apprentice and learn. Even when they left, we considered them extended family. Business was done with a handshake and not detailed contracts.
Some important collaborations sealed this direction early in our history. Jack Hanley’s work pushed us to try experimental etching techniques. He wanted to be “out of control” with the color field of the etchings we planned. His key plates were extremely controlled soft ground drawings printed over the chaos of the background plates. His concept pushed us to find ways to remove the artist’s direct control of the marks and etch.
Other collaborations were with artists whose work was camped in the nuances of mark making, color, and control. Listening to these artists and striving to meet their standards gave us skill and precision that became the hallmark of our editioning. Working with Melissa Miller on “Anima,” I may have pulled as many as 40 color trial proofs to get to the final solution, leveraging her discipline as an artist to do whatever it took to get to a successful print.
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| Melissa Miller, Anima (1996) Line etching and aquatint with chine collé |
Mark Lesly Smith: Flatbed hasn't been just "shaped" by its artist collaborators over the years, it has been created by them!
One of the things that has made Flatbed so successful has been the incredible variety of artists. Of course, we have always tried to work with artists of high artistic value, but the range of their work has been all over the map. It has made the work extremely enjoyable and interesting, and I think has established Flatbed as a very open shop that is diverse in every way, artistically and otherwise.
Flatbed feels more like a living, breathing organism than an institution. Over the course of its life, what periods of growth do you identify as the most transformative?KB: We never set out to be an institution and I am happy that it doesn’t feel that way. Beginning as a “Mom and Pop” styled business with two people who shared a love a printmaking but divided the work load made us more like a family. When Jerry Manson became a business partner in late 1990, the printmaking family expanded. Printers and interns came to us to apprentice and learn. Even when they left, we considered them extended family. Business was done with a handshake and not detailed contracts.
