Stagione 1
Archives Are For Everyone!
Ruth Lingen & More Booklyn History
Booklyn History with C. K. Wilde
Gloribel Delgado Esquilín
Josh MacPhee
Shana Agid
Fred Rinne
Mobile Print Power
Sofia Szamosi
sTo Len
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Why do archivists collect artists’ books? In this conversation, UConn archivists Graham Stinnett and Kristin Eshelman reflect on the university’s 20-year partnership with Booklyn and discuss their approaches to collecting, teaching, and curating. At the heart of their work is a shared belief that “archives are for everyone.” Links: Graham's UConn profile Kristin's UConn profile Graham's d'Archive podcast with guests Janet Pritchard and Kristen Eshelman Graham's d'Archive podcast with guest Marshall Weber Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Graham Stinett is an Archivist overseeing the Human Rights and Alternative Press Collections at the UConn Library, Archives & Special Collections. He holds an M.A. in Archival Studies from the University of Winnipeg/University of Manitoba and a B.A. in History from the University of Manitoba. His work focuses on the archivist as activist and expanding access to archives for a diverse audience. He is the host of d’Archive, an archives radio show and podcast, as well as Curator of the traveling punk rock archives exhibition, Live at The Anthrax: Connecticut’s Hardcore History. Graham currently teaches undergraduate courses on archives, memory, and popular culture. Kristin Eshelman is the archivist for multimedia collections at Archives & Special Collections. She is responsible for managing collections of special archival materials including photography, film, sound recordings, and artists’ books. In 2015, she became archivist for the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection as well. Kristin has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington College and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Arizona. Postgraduate education in photography led her to a career in photo archives. From 1992 to 1995, she trained at the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. She served as Photo Archivist for the Kansas Collection and University Archives at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, from 1996 to 2001.
Master printer Ruth Lingen hops on the call to chat about the magic of collaboration, and why making an artists’ book can feel like stepping into a “strange country.” She dishes out some jolly tales from Booklyn’s early days and offers some sage advice for emerging book artists (spoiler: don’t go at it alone!). Links: Ruth's website Ruth's Instagram Ruth's catalog Booklyn's website Booklyn's Instagram As a shop worker for the legendary New York printmaker Joe Wilfer and midwest bookmaster Walter Hamady, Ruth Lingen learned both her trade and the pleasure of collaborating with living artists. In the years since, she herself has become somewhat of a legend, collaborating with nearly 50 of the world's greatest artists—on prints (some for Pace editions, some on her own) and very special limited edition artist books. She has worked with Jim Dine, Robert Ryman, Mary Heilmann, Kiki Smith, Chuck Close and Claes Oldenberg, Bob Holman, Robert Creeley, Jessica Stockholder and Jeremy Sigler, Donald Traever, Al Held, and John Chamberlain, to name a few. Lingen's work can be found in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty, and the Brooklyn Museum, as well as in more than 20 libraries, from the New York Public Library to the Harvard University Library.
Ever wondered how Booklyn came to be? Artist and founding member C. K. Wilde joins us on a trip to the ‘90s to uncover our history. From the book mobile that started things off, to the librarians who helped us make our way, and how a misread exit sign became our name. Links: Christopher's website Christopher's catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Christopher Karl Wilde was born in 1972. Wilde was raised in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. At an early age his proclivities for art making were encouraged and enthusiastically supported. After going to The George School, a Quaker boarding school, he went on to study Philosophy and Art at the University of Wisconsin. In 1993 founded Artichoke Yink Press, an imprint for artists books; A.Y.P. has published over 125 titles to date with many artists and writers. Wilde moved to New York City to teach collage and book arts at The Pratt Institute, The Cooper Union, and The Center for the Book Arts. In 1998, Wilde co-founded The Booklyn Artists Alliance, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York. Wilde is represented by Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Los Angeles.
Puerto Rican textile artist Gloribel Delgado Esquilín talks with Monica & Marshall about her work as a journalist, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and how a found bag of cloth ignited a journey of sewing dolls and creating soft books. The three discuss the political nature of her work, and Gloribel shares the importance of making work that is vulnerable and physically soft (to offset hard topics), while also needing to feel free in her creation, as a reaction to living in a colonized space. Links: Gloribel's Instagram Gloribel's catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Gloribel Delgado Esquilín is a textile artist, craftswoman, teacher, and writer from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She worked for more than 20 years as a journalist, creating community newspapers, literary magazines, community radio programs, theater, and art. Her career took a surprising turn after finding some cloth bags on the city streets, inspiring her to create dolls with stories. From that meeting, she returned to her passion for sewing, creating over 400 dolls. In 2014, she moved to Lima, Peru, to expand her knowledge of textile art and joined the collective of textile artists, “La Hermandad de la Costura”. In 2018, she visited Paris, where she learned to create pieces in natural felt. In 2019, she returned to Peru and exhibited her first textile book “La Casa Inundada”. Delgado Esquilín's identity as an ecofeminist is a cornerstone of her work. She has trained as an agroecological promoter at the Puerto Rican farm school El Josco Bravo, and collaborated to spearhead the Project 4645 initiative, a poignant tribute to the memory of thousands of victims in Puerto Rico following the devastating Hurricane María. Currently, Delgado Esquilín is currently completing graduate studies in narration. She is working on her first book of chronicles and creates textile books with an anti-racist and decolonial vision of her days in Puerto Rico.
Josh MacPhee joins this episode of Booklyn Calling to discuss social movement culture as a third space outside of art and design with Booklyn curators Marshall Weber and Jan Descartes, and how art doesn't make change on its own. The three talk about collective expression and how imagery takes on meaning, and MacPhee teaches how to read protest and organizing symbols as a language. Links: Josh's Instagram Josh's Catalog Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative Interference Archive Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Josh MacPhee is a designer, artist, and archivist. He is a founding member of both the Justseeds Artists Cooperative and Interference Archive, a public collection of cultural materials produced by social movements based in Brooklyn, NY. MacPhee is the author and editor of numerous publications, including Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now and Signal: A Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. He has organized the Celebrate People’s History poster series since 1998 and has been designing book covers for many publishers for the past decade.
Teacher, artist, and activist Shana Agid joins Booklyn Calling for episode ten, answering questions from Monica and Booklyn curator Jan Descartes. They talk about the themes come up so often in her work, like privilege and absence, and Agid explains his way of trying to make sense of the world by coming back to the same core questions throughout his art. Links: Shana's Website Shana's Catalog Ground Rules Call a Wrecking Ball to Make a Window Snitch Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram Shana Agid is an artist, designer, teacher, and organizer whose work focuses on relationships of power and difference in visual, social, and political cultures. Her books and prints combine image, text, and form to explore these through narratives of desire, landscape, and history. His work has been shown at The New York Center for Book Arts, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, the Hamilton Wood Type Museum, and other venues. His artist books are in the collections of the Walker Art Center, New York Public Library, and the Library of Congress, among others. She is an also a collaborative design researcher and practitioner working with organizations to create systems and infrastructures toward self-determination, and a long-time member of Critical Resistance. Shana is an Associate Professor at Parsons School of Design / The New School in New York City.
Monica and Marshall go on a wild ride with Fred Rinne, as they’re pulled into his universe for an episode. Join in as they reminisce about his artist book beginnings, discuss the overlapping of art, music, and humor, share thoughts on Booklyn Zine Club, and have story time with some of Rinne’s books. Links: Fred Rinne's Website Fred Rinne's Catalog Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram
José and Jess from Mobile Print Power join Booklyn Calling to give insight into their newly released box set and talk about the collective. They tell us what it's like being a bilingual multi-generational collective that explores social and cultural situations in a public setting, and how they take inspiration from their community and turn it into graphic designs. Find out about the collaborative work they do with their community in Corona, Queens, and how they're getting back to it since Covid derailment. Mobile Print Powers 8 Principals: 1. We engage our whole selves to the task at hand 2. We value the skills, knowledge, and experiences of all people, regardless of age or formal education 3. We honor all community traditions and respect all community voices 4. We recognize that dignity has no nationality and we oppose racism 5. We want equality across the gender spectrum and we oppose sexism 6. We reject violent words and violent actions 7. We value all forms of written and spoken language and other forms of communication 8. We believe in the power of collaborative and collective work Links: Mobile Print Power's website Mobile Print Power's Instagram Mobile Print Power's Catalog & Box Set Booklyn's Website Booklyn's Instagram
Sofia Szamosi joins Marshall to talk about how creating zines can be a gateway to making painted books and graphic novels, and how the process is different for them all. They also do a retrospective on Szamosi’s work around social media, looking into the subjects of body image and ‘girlhood’ and discuss her desire to make personal books. Links: https://sofiaszamosi.net/ https://www.instagram.com/sofiaszamosi/ https://booklyn.org/artists/sofia-szamosi/
Brooklyn-based artist and self-proclaimed "hydro-feminist", sTo Len, joins us to talk about his life so far as an artist, spanning his teenage years to today. From selling gas station zines and printmaking with dead fish to making collaborative artists' books with the Organik collective and his position as the first-ever NYC Department of Sanitation artist-in-residence. A super fun episode with a lot to be covered. *** Links sTo Len: https://www.stoishere.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoishere/ The Office of In Visibility (OOIV): https://www.officeofinvisibility.com/ Public Artists in Residence (PAIR): https://www.nyc.gov/site/dcla/publicart/pair.page#:~:text=Public%20Artists%20in%20Residence%20(PAIR)%20is%20a%20municipal%20residency%20program,solutions%20to%20pressing%20civic%20challenges. Works on Water: https://www.worksonwater.org/ *** Booklyn links Website: https://booklyn.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booklynart/