(UN)REAL; FROM THE FANTASTIC TO ALTERNATIVE FACTS: LOCATING TRUTH IN (PRINT) MEDIA

Chair: Erika Adams

Panel: Catherine Wild, Marilène Oliver, Mike Sell and Paul DeRuvo

Las Vegas is a perfect place from which to discuss altered realities. Worlds created on the strip for tourists are a sparkling promise, and the sense of western expansion still exists in the open spaces of the desert landscape. But how are those feelings constructed by our identities or perceptions of place? With an eye on Jean Baudrillard’s notions of hyperreality and Umberto Eco’s idea of the 'authentic fake' this panel will discuss how print artists and print media navigate relationships between printmaking and truth. From early cartographic explorations to the fourth estate, the press has always been part of how information moves between people and communities. Panelists will explore that role and how print can satisfy the desire for real, authentic experience.

ABOUT ERIKA ADAMS

Erika Adams lives and works in Montreal, Quebec, where she runs Eating Dog Press, prints for Stinger Editions, and is an Associate Professor of Print Media at Concordia University. She is a Tamarind Master Printer and exhibits her work nationally and internationally. She was an artist in residence at the Vermont Studio Center, Frans Masereel Center in Belgium, Penland School of Crafts, Djerassi, AIR Serenbe, Atelier Imago in New Brunswick and NSCAD in Nova Scotia. Her studio practice explores how meaning is embedded in text and form and is inspired by insect societies, flocks of birds, wrestlers, her familial vernacular, poetry and everyday interactions.

 

ABOUT THE PANEL

Catherine Wild works at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Marilène Oliver is affiliated with the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Mike Sell is on the faculty at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, Oregon, USA.  Paul DeRuvo is an Associate Printer & Studio Manager at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT.