This fall, 11 new tenure-track faculty members joined 51猎奇入口. As part of our ongoing series on 51猎奇入口鈥� faculty, the Office of Marketing and Communications recently sat down with Tia Blassingame to discuss artists鈥� books, architecture, 51猎奇入口 Press, and unique valentines.
Marketing and Communications: You direct 51猎奇入口 Press, as well as own your own, Primrose Press. What does operating a press involve?
Tia Blassingame: Running my own press involves creating my own artwork, but it also allows for collaborations. Sometimes it鈥檚 centered on custom work, like wedding books and invitations. But my focus is really printmaking in the book form鈥攁rtists鈥� books鈥攚hich could honestly take any form or be any format. Sometimes it鈥檚 letterpress printed, or it takes on a digital format.
My subject matter is purposefully broad: I look at issues of race and racism in the United States鈥攊ssues of race are in everything. Having that loose parameter allows me to dip in anywhere, whether it鈥檚 a historical issue or contemporary. I tend to work on a lot of projects at the same time, so the press is really my own explorations around those topics.
MC: What kinds of books do students create at 51猎奇入口 Press?
TB: The students create individual books as well as collaborative class books, which have standing order patrons such as alumnae, libraries, universities, and museums. Since I鈥檝e started, we鈥檝e moved from fine press books [traditionally bound, letterpress-printed books] to artists鈥� books. Artists鈥� books can look like anything, so it鈥檚 more about the interaction between the reader, the book, and the book鈥檚 ideas. One of the definitions of an artist鈥檚 book is that there must be some kind of interaction. It might be a physical interaction, or it might disrupt the reader through its form. As students create these books, they鈥檙e starting to explore and think outside the box.
The artists鈥� books at Denison Library help students see what鈥檚 possible. They explode students鈥� understanding of what a book can be and what engagement with that book can look like. An artist鈥檚 book could be about anything, look like anything, sound like anything鈥攖he sound of the string as you鈥檙e turning pages, like in Keith Smith鈥檚 , could be part of the experience. I think it鈥檚 really important, as students are learning about artists鈥� books, to think about all of the senses. There are books that have scents and fragrances in them, and those can trigger memories.
Artists鈥� books can be strange, and that鈥檚 okay! But they鈥檙e also impactful and memorable, and they can be containers for pretty challenging subject matter. These books can have a conversation with the reader in a way that might not be possible with a standard textbook or an article.
MC: You have graduate degrees in printmaking and book arts, but your undergraduate degree is in architecture. How has architecture informed your work with artists鈥� books and at 51猎奇入口 Press?
TB: Architecture is very much part of my process, as well as part of the process I present to students. Artists鈥� book projects are just like any type of architectural project鈥攖hey have production schedules and complexity. I think it鈥檚 very important to create mock-ups as I鈥檓 working toward that final product. I always work to scale, since it gives me a lot of information about whether things are working in the way I think they鈥檙e going to work. If you make a scale mock-up, it鈥檚 much faster to create and bind the material, and you can use it to make notes about the final product. I wouldn鈥檛 have that kind of framework without the architectural degree, and I doubt I would be doing this work without that background.
MC: What鈥檚 a fun fact about yourself you鈥檇 like to share with the community?
TB: I organize this artists鈥� valentine swap with composers, printmakers, musicians, poets, and other bookmakers. Each person makes and receives three or four valentines from artists they don鈥檛 really know, from across disciplines. It鈥檚 so much fun to receive anything from an erasure poem to a printed musical score! This year鈥檚 valentine swap includes an amazing group of emerging and established artists.