Post-Digital Letterpress Printing

Esta conferência tem como objetivo refletir sobre o estado atual da prática e investigação em tipografia no contexto internacional. Nos últimos anos, temos testemunhado lentamente o renascimento da tecnologia de impressão com carateres móveis — letterpress — em Portugal, principalmente devido ao crescente interesse da atual geração de designers gráficos e artistas visuais. Um interesse que segue a tendência estabelecida na última década em outros contextos internacionais. Como tal, esta conferência reúne os investigadores e praticantes da tipografia tradicional nos atuais contextos de design editorial pós-digital das atividades e tecnologias do século XXI.

O programa da conferência inclui workshops, apresentações de oradores convidados, comunicações de participantes e uma exposição internacional com trabalhos provenientes do Brasil, Inglaterra, França, Índia, Itália, Holanda, Noruega, Polônia, Portugal, Rússia, Espanha, Sri Lanka, Estados Unidos da América.

Os tópicos que irão ser abordados abrangem um amplo espectro de interesses em torno da educação, história e práticas [híbridas] atuais, nomeadamente da inclusão de tecnologias de fabricação digital num contexto de impressão tradicional. Bem como os desafios e oportunidades estéticas atuais para o design de comunicação, produção editorial,  ensino e formação, bem como a produção artística. Esperamos que todos os participantes desfrutem da conferência, mas que também encontrem a oportunidade de aprender algo novo, partilhar seus conhecimentos e ajudar a desenvolver ainda mais este campo de prática e investigação.

[English Version]

This conference aims to reflect on the current status of letterpress practice and research in the international context. In the last few years, we have been slowly witnessing the revival of this technology in Portugal, mainly due to the surging interest of the modern printers and typesetters — the current generation of graphic designers and visual artists. An interest, that follows the trend set in the last decade in other international contexts. As such, this conference gathers the researchers and practitioners of this traditional practice in the current post-digital editorial design contexts of the twenty-first century’s activities and technologies.

The conference program includes Workshops, Keynote presentations from invited speakers, Communications from participating authors and an international exhibition from Brazil, England, France, India, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, United States of America.

Topics range a broad spectrum of interests around Education, History and current [hybrid] Practices. Historical and current digital fabrications technologies will be addressed. As well as current challenges and opportunities to design aesthetics, editorial production, education curricula and fine arts practices. We hope that everyone attending will enjoy but also find the opportunity to learn something new, share their knowledge and help to push this field even further.

Warm-up (pre-conference) workshops:
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From procedural digital programming to modular letterpress printing.
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday 20, 22 & 23 of January 2020 (FBAUP, PA301), 14h00–18h00 (12h).
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Digital vs. Analog
2 part workshop, one that combines both the old and new technologies — the digital and the analog.
Saturday, 25 january 2020, ESE (Printing workshop) 10h–18h (6h).
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More info, details & registration for the warm-up workshops.

Conference workshops
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Gillotage
Exploring a mid-nineteenth century relief printing technique.
Thursday, 30 january, FBAUP (Engraving room), 10h00 – 17h00 (6h).
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SuperVeloz
Work with a selection of the Super Tipo Veloz typographic system modules cut with laser in methacrylate.
Thursday, 30 january, ESAD, 10h00 – 13h00 (3h). More info details & Registration (soon).
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P22 Blox printing system
A modular letterpress printing system for lettering, experimental letterforms and pattern making.
Thursday, 30 january, EASR (Printing Workshop), 10h00 – 17h00 (6h).
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Letterpress and almost-revolutions
Thursday, 30 january, ESE (Printing Workshop), 10h00 – 17h00 (6h).
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More info details & Registration for the Conference Workshops

Keynote Speakers

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Catherine Dixon (Central Saint Martins, University of London)
Thursday, 30 january, 18h00, FBAUP Museum
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Richard Kegler (P22 Type Foundry) & Amelia Fontanel (RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection)
Friday, 31 january, 12h00, FBAUP Museum
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Jorge dos Reis (Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon)
Friday, 31 january, 17h00, FBAUP Museum
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Registration for attendance online until January 25: https://pdlp.fba.up.pt/#registration

Conference Communications*
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Reinventing typefounding.
Richard Ardagh (TBC)
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Super Tipo Veloz: From letterpress to screen. Learning from a modular type system.
Andreu Balius, Roberto Gamonal.
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A Digital Typeface For a Reimagined Field of Post-Digital Letterpress Printing.
Ana Sofia Mariz
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The post-digital letterpress print exchange: Methodological Innovation in the Exploration of Contemporary Letterpress Practice.
Chris Wilson
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Orlando Erasto Portela: relations between creative process and letterpress printing methods of an (almost) unknown designer from mid twentieth century.
Nuno Coelho (TBC)
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Gillotage. Exploring a mid-nineteenth century relief printing technique
Graciela Machado & Marta Belkot
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Nonsense Poetry Book.
Tadeu Costa
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Printing Practice.
Aleksandra Hoffer (TBC)
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Resisting hyper-digitalisation: the re-appropriation of the printed object in contemporary design
Lucrezia Russo
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Typography and artist's book. Emilio Sdun’s experience.
Antonio Alcaraz Mira
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i.E. Magazine: experimentation and learning out of classes
Miguel Sanches, Bruno Gomes & Rita Oliveira (TBC)
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Letterpress out of nothing
Alexandra Korolkova
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Expression of Power through Wood Type: Newspaper Headings
Sumanthri Samarawickrama
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Contemporary print in the museum; innovation in unexpected places.
Charlotte Biszewski (TBC)
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Anti-Amnesia: Articulating design and media towards letterpress printing’s heritage preservation and value creation.
Jorge Brandão Pereira, Heitor Alvelos, Abhishek Chatterjee , Susana Barreto
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Letterpress is (not) a serious business: experiments in a design course.
Rita Carvalho
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Letterpress as education platform.
Jorge Araújo
*Preliminary program. Some authors’ participation is still subject to final confirmation/registration.

Communication sessions will take place at the FBAUP Museum, on friday from 09h30—11h30, and from 14h30–16h30 

More updated information soon on the conference website:

https://pdlp.fba.up.pt/

Catherine Dixon is a designer, writer, researcher and teacher. As a designer she works with text-based projects, including typographic covers for the award-winning Great Ideas series for Penguin Books, Phaidon, and on several projects with Phil Baines. As a writer she writes regularly on letterforms in environmental contexts, contributing to the website publiclettering.org.uk and co-authoring with Phil Baines the book “Signs: lettering in the environment” (Laurence King 2003). As a researcher she has a particular interest in letterforms, her Doctoral thesis focusing on the problems of describing typefaces. A regular contributor to Eye Magazine, Matrix, and other Journals. She has coordinated events and conferences at the St. Bride Library for many years has had an advisory role at the Library since 2003. Senior Lecturer at Central Saint Martins (part of the University of the Arts London) where she teaches typography on the Graphic Communication Design programme and co-curates the Central Lettering Record with Phil Baines. External Examiner at Lincoln University. From 2011–12 she was a Visiting Professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. 

Amelia Fontanel is a curator at the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection,​ a renowned library that collects on design, typography, and the book arts. As manager of the Cary technology collection, she is responsible for teaching and maintaining some 23 different presses and thousands of fonts of metal and wood type. She is actively involved in the American letterpress community, holding board positions with the American Printing History Association and the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum.

Richard Kegler is the founder and lead designer of P22 Type Foundry. As founder of the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo NY, Richard combined an interest in traditional crafts along with an entrepreneurial background to help create a self-sustaining community organization. The new P22 studio in Rochester, New York focuses on both digital and analog printing and typography. 

Jorge dos Reis (b. 1971, Unhais da Serra), Graphic Designer. He was an apprentice typographic composer of a National Press first officer in the former Cais do Sodré Typography. He began his career by collaborating with the designer Robin Fior in Lisbon and with the typographer Alan Kitching in London. He settled his own studio in 1996. His work is extensive and diverse, having a dual activity as a designer and as an artist: he makes graphic, and typographic designs; exhibits drawings, and paintings. He attended the National Conservatory in António Wagner's singing class studying with the composers Jorge Peixinho and Paulo Brandão while graduating in Communication Design at FBAUL. Jorge dos Reis has a Master of Arts from the Royal College of Art in London, a Master in Sociology of Communication from ISCTE, and a Doctorate from the University of Lisbon. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, where he founded and directs the Master of Contemporary Typographic and Editorial Practice. He was a visiting professor at the Norwich University of Arts; Univerza v Liubliana; Berlin Universität der Kunste; Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin; Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna; Aalto University Helsínquia; Tampere University of Technology; Karel de Grote University Antwerp; Marmara Üniversitisi Istambul; Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia; Politecnico di Milano; Kunst Universität Linz; Hochschule RheinMain University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden; Cardiff Metropolitan University; Universidade Estadual de Minas Gerais, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Piauí e Universidade de Brasília in Brazil. 

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30 e 31 jan 2020
oMuseu + FBAUP

CONFERÊNCIAS ANTERIORES