New Old Type

Recent acquisitions for the WNYBAC type collection include some unusual wood and metal type as seen here (photo courtesy Greg Meadows). much sorting and cleaning needed, but when it is ready for use, there will be some fine material for printing. A grand opening day has not been set, but we are working on getting ready and volunteers are always welcome to help with setting things up. drop us a line at info {at} wnybookarts.org

Book Arts call at Impact Artists' Gallery

Deadline for entries has been extended.

Sign not of the Times

TypeCon2008: Punkt continues today (Wednesday, July 16) with a public sign painting demonstration from the steady hand and keen eye of John Downer. The site of this real time display of the art of window painting is the Western NY Book Arts Center at 468 Washington & E. Mohawk (a very short walk from the Hyatt hotel). From 11 till 3 today, stop by and gawk or stop by at some point during the conference to see the end results. WNYBAC is not currently open for regular hours, but a sneak preview this week has been met with some enthusiasm

3 out of 500 Handmade books...

...are by WNYBAC board members Kyle Schlesinger & Diane Bond

Congratulations on their inclusion in this fine compendium of the current state of the art & craft of handmade books. Entries juried by Steve Miller were selected from thousands of entries. 500 Handmade books is a good place to start if you are curious about what can be done between two covers.

...and so it begins

A full day of moving assorted type cases, furniture, racks & proofing presses from various locations into the new print shop area of the WNY Book Arts center gives a glimmer of what will be. We are quite excited, but there is much to do. Volunteers are always welcome and needed: from polishing up old equipment to identifying unmarked type cases to sweeping, painting & even some more moving. If you really want to help out but have no time, please consider joining as a member. Things are moving along daily.

WNYBAC in the media

The past 7 days of media have been very good for the WNY Book Art collaborative and the announcement of the new building on Washington St. in Buffalo

June 23 - Buffalo area NPR affiliate WBFO featured an interview
June 24 - The Buffalo News featured a story on the Book Arts Center
June 25 - Buffalo Spree magazine released July/Aug issue with article on TypeCon with WNYBAC as a presenting partner
July 1 - Buffalo Rising July print issue features the WNYBAC building

And we have a new facebook page

whew!

WNYBAC in the Matrix

The Western NY Book Arts Collaborative portfolio of prints: WNYBAC-1 has received the honor of being reviewed by the British fine press "journal for printers and bibliophiles": The Matrix #27. This all letterpress annual is focal point of contemporary letterpress and fine printing and typography. The review includes a tip-in from one of the WNYBAC prints and states:

The twenty-one contributions to the first publication of the Western New York Book Arts Collaborative, although boxed in the same style & format as Verse into Type, make an interesting contrast. This is certainly a lively group, no holds barred (the first contribution comes in a slightly retro-looking Agfachrome slide mount), and letterpress is definitely an optional extra. Colour abounds, one uses the third dimension, and while the purists may be startled, there's certainly plenty going on within the confines of the format. Richard Kegler, founder of the P22 type foundry in Buffalo, NY bravely offered to reset and reprint his eye-catching contribution for Matrix. Quite how it all locked up and imposed is known only to the printer, but it epitomises WNYBAC's delight in breaking the rules... Such collaborations are a revealing way of seeing how different printers approach a common task...

TypeCon2008-Buffalo NY

July 15-20 is TypeCon week in Buffalo

- Austrian design superstar Stefan Sagmeister will speak at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum commemorated with a special limited edition poster by Buffalo design studio, Hero Design
- Dutch design group NLXL will present at UB's Center for the Arts
- German design legend Erik Spiekermann will speak at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Gusto free Friday event
- Type-themed Pecha Kucha at Hallwalls
- TypeCon identity designed by Buffalo-based designer David A. Moore
- Typographic tour of Forest Lawn Cemetery
- A special rare book exhibit at the Buffalo and Erie Co. Central Library
- Special City Hall tour focused on the Art Deco Typography of City Hall
- Student newspaper design project with Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School with mentorship from Business First and visiting designers
- Special tour of the Cary Collection at RIT
- Type and Design Education Forum for local and international educators
- Mohawk Place will feature an evening showcasing local label P22 records with Odiorne + others
- Gala party at the Hyatt with Buffalo DJ legends Déjà Blü
- Closing reception for attendees at The Roycroft Campus
- Workshops being held at: the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School as well as Quality Bindery, Paradise Press, French Press, and UB
- Events co-organized with SOTA, the Western New York Book Arts Collaborative, and P22 type foundry
- Plus three days of talks, multimedia presentations, exhibitions, and panel discussions on type and lettering arts and how they relate to communication, design, literacy, and visual culture.

A number of TypeCon events are free and open to the general public, with all events included for conference attendees. Registration is open and all are welcome to attend.


discount admission for SOTA & WNYBAC members

For full details & Registration

Hamilton Type Festival

Continuing on the Southern Ontario theme (seeing that Ontario is technically minutes from downtown Buffalo) the Hamilton Type Festival features a series of events focused around typography and signage in Hamilton Ontario. Some events include:

May 9 - June 6
Ghost Signs of Hamilton - A photographic exhibition documenting Hamilton’s ghost signs originated at the Art Gallery of Hamilton last year.Showing at Mixed Media until June 6.

Thursday, May 22, 7pm
Helvetica (the film) - Hamilton premiere at Staircase Theatre

Saturday, May 24th, 1-3pm free
Greg Smith, typesetting demonstration At The Print Studio
173 James St. N.

Saturday, May 24th, 1-3pm free
Gord Pullar, sign-painting demonstration at Mixed Media, James St. N.

Sunday, May 25th 1-3pm free
Signs of Downtown Hamilton walking tour - Meet at Wellington Park, King & Wellington St. Tour wraps up with coffee and discussion at HIStory+HERitage, 165 James St. N.

Southern Ontario

Western New York and Southern Ontario are linked geographically but at times they seem worlds apart. As part of the WNYBAC outreach program, we are supporters of the Type Club of Toronto whose series of Type & Design speaker events is as good an excuse as any to visit the Metropolis to our near North. About half way to Toronto from Buffalo (yes, there is also an IKEA about half way) is Grimbsy Ontario. This April 26th is the Grimbsby Wayzgoose fair and WNYBAC will be represented at its own table. Admission is free.

Every year on the last Saturday in April, the Grimsby Public Art Gallery celebrates Wayzgoose, a festival of Book Arts. This annual book arts fair brings together private presses from all across Canada and the United States representing the renewal of old friendships, the beginning of new ones, and the appreciation for handmade book and paper arts. Demonstrations and displays of paper making, book binding, calligraphy, paper marbling, and book making celebrates the love of fine art, fine craft, and stories.

A Curious Type: Graphic Design In Film

A great film series starts today at the George Eastman House/Dryden Theatre in Rochester.

George Eastman House Presents: A CURIOUS TYPE: GRAPHIC DESIGN IN FILM - Graphic design is an implicit part of the filmmaking process. It is often so implicit, however, as to become obscured by some of the flashier aspects of movies. For this series, we’re hoping to uncover the elements of graphic design in cinema by exploring artists and examples that exhibit great design.

April 3rd, 7pm
7pm: RIT Professor, R. Roger Remington lecture on the Bauhaus Films
8pm: László Moholy-Nagy & Bauhaus Films (80 min)

April 10th, 8pm
British Television Advertising Awards 2007

April 17th, 8pm
The Films of Charles & Ray Eames

April 19th
7pm: RIT Professor Charles Bigelow on the history of typography
8pm: HELVETICA with Charles Bigelow in Person!

April 20th, 5pm
HELVETICA

April 24, 8pm
Saul Bass and the Art of Title Design

For more information

BIGELOW and HOLMES @ UB

L*E*T*T*E*R*S
& LITERATURES

a joint presentation by
CHARLES BIGELOW and KRIS HOLMES

RESCHEDULED for April 2 4PM


"We'll talk about calligraphy and typography for oral literatures that became literate at some time. Such as Kiksht Chinook, colloquial modern Irish, medieval Provencal, a little K'iche', a smattering of Old English and Ancient Greek."

Charles Bigelow is the Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Professor of Graphic Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the recipient of RIT's Frederic W. Goudy Award in Typography, and a former MacArthur Prize Fellow.

Kris Holmes is an internationally known calligrapher and the designer of more than one hundred type faces, including Lucida Grande, the standard font for Macintosh OS X. She is the President of the Bigelow & Holmes Studio.

Tuesday, February 26 at 4:00 PM in the Poetry Collection, UB Libraries Special Collections Research Room, 420 Capen Hall, North Campus. (Sorry to report, due to the Winter Storm Watch, this talk has been postponed until April 2.)

There will be a display of their work.

Helvetica DVD

The Western NY Book Arts Collaborative brought the Helvetica film to Buffalo for the WNY TypoFest back in May of 2007, now we bring the film to you as an official reseller of the DVD. WNYBAC members can get the DVD for only $18 or $20 for non-members (+$5 for shipping with in the US, members can save on shipping by making arrangements via workshops or serendipitous clandestine car trunk sales.)

The DVD includes the full 80-minute feature film, plus over 90 minutes of additional interviews with Massimo Vignelli, Matthew Carter, Erik Spiekermann, Hermann Zapf, and many more. 16x9 anamorphic widescreen presentation, with English and German language subtitles, and a 12-page color booklet.

Saturday Workshops in 2008

The Western NY Book Arts Collaborative presents its Winter 2008 book arts Saturday workshop series in the Buffalo NY area.

January 12
Intro to hand set type & letterpress printing
Instructor: Hal Leader - Paradise Press
January 19
Intro to Fontlab - Making digital fonts
Instructor: Richard Kegler - P22 type foundry
January 26
Gocco Printing & Japanese binding
Instructors: Diane Bond & Linda Meyer
February 2
Budgeting for Independent publishing Instructor: David McNamara - Sunnyoutside press
February 23
Foil Embossing workshop
Instructor: Don Dehoff - Keepsake Bindery
March 1
Zine Publishing & Distribution
Instructors: Amy Greenan & Joel Brenden
March 8
Silk Screening Printing on Wood
Instructor: Jeff Sherven - UB Print dept.

For more details, registration information & additional events:

Additional workshops in Rochester NY presented by The Printing & Book Arts Center at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education

Woodtype for Woody

Guthrie that is. The WNY Book Arts Collaborative assisted in a unique typographic treatment for the first ever "Live" Woody Guthrie recording release. The CD comes in a small but lush 72 page hardcover book with metallic inks and papers, yet highly sensitive to the aesthetic of Guthrie in the 1940s. Designed by Grammy award winning designer Susan Archie (You thought I was going to say Brian Grunert, not this time, but it's nice that WNYBAC has 2 Grammy award winning designers as cohorts), the wood type from the collection of Paradise Press (Buffalo's letterpress treasure trove) was printed and scanned with irregularities and wood grain that cannot be reproduce in a standard digital font. A generous thank you in the back of the book to The WNY Book Arts Collaborative is a nice feather in our collective cap. Sales of the book benefit the Woody Guthrie Foundation and from one non profit venture to another, WNYBAC was happy to donate its services.

TypeCon2008 public meeting Nov 6

TypeCon2008 Buffalo Town Hall Meeting – Tuesday, November 6
SOTA‘s going back to Buffalo next week to meet with local crew and others interested in helping to develop the TypeCon2008 program and extracurricular activities.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Old Editions Book Shop & Cafe
74 East Huron Street
Buffalo, NY
Directions to TypeCon2008 Planning Meeting

All type lovers are encouraged to join us for this fun and informative brainstorming meeting. Coffee and dessert will be served to help fuel your creative juices.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend, but please RSVP so we know how much caffeine and sugar to have on hand. Email: richard at p22.com and info at typesociety.org
If you can‘t make it to this meeting but would like to participate, please email us at info at typesociety.org. Spread the word to your type-loving friends - everyone is welcome in building the best TypeCon ever!

Small Press is Big

For decades Buffalo has had a burgeoning small press scene fueled by poets turned publisher out of inspiration and necessity. Last years inagural Small Press Book fair and the recent relocation of sunnyoutside from Boston to Buffalo shows that Buffalo is a thriving and welcoming scene for independent publishing and "the book".
The University at Buffalo's Small Press in the Archive is an ongoing series of lectures highlighting current activities and the impressive collection at UB's Poetry and Rare Book room. Next up in the series is Kyle Schlesinger Lecture "The Letterpress in the Mimeo Revolution," Monday October 29 at 12 noon in The Poetry Collection, 420 Capen Hall.

Small Press in the Archive Lecture Series dedicates itself to the study of poetry outside the traditional literary historical plot. The lectures in this series draw on materials in The Poetry Collection, at SUNY Buffalo in order to explore community/discourse formations, the status of ephemera and the making of genre, the conditions of literary production, transatlantic cross-pollinations in and between specific magazines, the careers of poets, the role of book art, and how the little magazine functions in the making of the avant-garde.

Blazevox is another prolific Buffalo based publisher of "post avant poetry and fiction" and will feature a book launch party for Michael Kelleher's “Human Scale” and “Hello Helicopter” by Kyle Schlesinger at Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen St. on Sunday Oct 28(after the Bills game for those who cannot multi-task.) Great food is rumored to be included in this free event.

Book Art Shows, Conferences and Seminars

Over the next couple of months there are quite a few events around the US dedicated to the book arts, here are just a few:

October 5-8 — Oak Knoll Fest, New Castle Delaware

October 11-13 — American Printing History Association Annual Conference
Transformations: The Persistence of Aldus Manutius. At UCLA

October 26-28 — The Connection: Arts and Crafts Conference, at the Roycroft- East Aurora NY

November 2 — Production not Reproduction: The Influence of Offset Printing on Artists' Books at the Center for Book Arts New York City

November 10 — BABYLON LEXICON is New Orleans' annual exhibition of artists' books and book inspired art. The show opens in conjunction with the NOLA Bookfair

Stop Counting Sheep

Congratulations to WNYBAC Advisory Board member Kim Fleischman for her book "Sheep Hill Community Tree" being selected as one of the AIGA's 50 Books/50 Covers for 2007. To see more about this book, visit this Flash based website and see #76. The AIGA Fifty Books award goes back to 1922 and honors the best book designs of each year by such luminaries as Bruce Rogers, Frederic Goudy and the Grabhorn Press. It's great to see one of our own included this year as an independent publication amongst some very high budget company (and the usual slew of McSweeney's books).
Cheers Kim!

September 7th a busy day

If you are in Buffalo NY area and not already going to Elvis Costello at the Albright Knox Gallery or to the Steve Kurtz benefit screening of Strange Culture by Hallwalls at the Market Arcade Cinema...and are still looking for something to do on the eve of Sept 7,

take a drive up to Grimsby, Ontario for the opening reception of "A Printer’s Craft: The Art of Printmaking" at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 18 Carnegie Ln., Grimsby, ON. The exhibit runs until October 13th.