September 7 & 8, 11-7pm
E-mail angee@spudnikpress.org to volunteer

Help us spread the good word about how fun and easy it is to print at Spudnik Press! We are looking for a few kind folks to come by the studio the week before Renegade to pick up a stack of our spiffy brand new brochures and then distribute throughout the weekend to vendors. Each volunteer will be responsible for visiting about a quarter of the booths to help promote our studio and invite people to print or learn at Spudnik.

Jaclyn Jacunski

Dates:

10/4/2013 – 10/25/2013

Location:

The Annex @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Friday, October 4, 2013, 6-9pm
Join our Facebook Event

Press Release:

Site and Source is a solo exhibition including many works that were made while Jaclyn was Artist In Residence at Spudnik Press Cooperative in Chicago from March through May 2013. Beginning with the plastic fencing and other found objects taken from an abandoned lot near her home, Jacunski uses the impression of these materials to create new work. At times it is a physical impression, resulting in a sculptural artwork. Other times, it is an impression left on her mind, resulting in a hand-written artwork that takes the form of a chain link fence. Jacunski sees Chicago vacant lots as a common part of life on the west and south side. The lots are clear visual makers that stand out from other parts the city. The physical expressions in these locations reflect the social, political, and financial networks that bind the community or divide us from one another. These urban spaces hold many implications in everyday life – in the actions one takes, in the decisions one makes, and in the crisis we weather.

Jaclyn Jacunski lives and works in Chicago. She received her M.F.A. in Printmedia from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and a B.F. A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, trained at Tandem Press. She has taught at SAIC and Harrington College of Design. Her artwork explores protests and acts of resistance in local communities, examining how they manifest in signs, in the landscape, and media.

This project includes a series four screenprinted posters based off a body of work entitled “Small Arms”

On his website, Russ describes his series of drawings:

“The drawings here investigate our fear from different perspectives through several bodies of work: a series of bright, unsettling shooting range targets; a day in the life of a classic police target; and a darkly funny take on the anxiety and anonymity of crowds… the work uses simple constructions to mine complicated themes. Criminals, victims, cartoons, and crowds all play a role here in questioning our societal rage and reminding us not to lose sight of a villain’s humanity.”

These prints as well as many other drawings and prints will be on display at “Peepers“, a show at Humboldt House on August 9th from 6-11.

For more information about our Publishing Program, please contact Ashlee or Angee at publishing@spudnikpress.org

A Community Affair: Exploring Contemporary Art in Chicago

By Hanna Exel

When I set out for a week in Chicago I thought I would be able to leave with a comprehensive, fully formed picture of the city’s contemporary art scene. Instead, I found myself exploring only the tip of a very large iceberg. From a handful of boisterous alternative art spaces to the Brave New Art World gallery crawl to the venerable Museum of Contemporary Art and beyond, I saw a huge range of non-traditional models for producing, exhibiting, and funding contemporary art. I also met with a number of the people whose commitment, enthusiasm, and innovative ideas have helped to make the art scene in Chicago the vibrant network that it is.

My first visit was to Spudnik Press Cooperative on Chicago’s West Side. Angee Lennard launched Spudnik several years ago with weekly studio sessions in her one-bedroom apartment. Now, the co-op inhabits an expansive loft space with a classroom, a gallery, and facilities for screenprinting, intaglio, lithography, and letterpress printmaking. Angee showed me around the space and talked about how and why the cooperative model works at Spudnik. The Press offers a wide range of services to members and non-members alike; they rent studio space, host classes, administer a residency and, of course, offer the use of their printmaking equipment at an affordable rate. Equally important, though, is Spudnik’s function as a hub for members of Chicago’s printmaking community to come together and share skills and knowledge. As any printmaker knows, printmaking works best as a collaborative process; even the most seasoned practitioner can learn new techniques from other printers, or at least benefit from having a pair of clean hands around to pull pristine sheets of paper from the press bed. The importance of a local community coming together to produce and support art would prove to be a recurring theme throughout my time in Chicago.

To read the full article, click here.

Printers Ball
Saturday, July 27
12:00 Noon – 6:00pm
1821 W Hubbard
Chicago, IL 60622

Here is a sneak of an interview with Luke Daly by Bailey Romaine discussing The Annex and specifically Luke’s involvement.

Luke Daly says:

The library was an important part of thinking about what the Annex could be from the beginning. Mainly I was interested in having a physical home for small press, mostly very small-run and handmade literary books, since they are such an important part of the history of alternative or experimental writing in the US, and because they are so tactile and really need to be seen and held to be appreciated. Of course Chicago has places where similar things are available, like the Read/Write Library or Quimby’s, but the focus of the collection that I was interested in putting together at the start was slightly different in that it sought to foreground small, specifically literary publishing from around the US.

Since I’ve been putting together the collection, my interests have developed in an organic way, and I’m finding myself interested in the intersection that seems to be going on between comics, zine and literary cultures. It seems like those categories are learning from one another, and people are doing work that very interestingly exist at the intersection of those different conversations. I’m finding myself more and more drawn to work of this nature. And always work that looks beautiful but that is made simply, since in the end we are a space that’s built around making, and it’s great to be able to have this collection here to show students or to consult for ideas when getting started on a project.

As for the Book Arts Series, which is the series of exhibitions that I curate at the Annex, my idea to pair gallery shows with the publication of artists’ books started to come together while I was researching people who I thought would work well to show here. I knew that I was interested in work that was operating at the intersections of language work and visual work, but often the work that I was encountering that extended this as it’s main goal or focus never totally hit home for me, and I started to feel that placing work at a crossroads of visual and literary could very well be a slightly more involved and creative curatorial task than just seeking and finding artists whose work, as is, fit with my own conceptual goals of the Annex.

Read the Full Interview

Liz Born
Gabe Hoare
Caleb Plattner
Luke Daly
Brandy Barker
Veronica Siehl

Dates:

8/10/2013 – 9/13/2013

Location:

The Annex @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Saturday, August 10, 2013, 6-9pm

Press Release:

Attn: SalvageCore; Science Division A.Centauri

The remains of an ancient research vessel have been intercepted in orbit of 51 Pegasi C. Our records indicate that this privately chartered, pre-ansible ship was launched 30 centuries ago on a colony mission during the Terran Diaspora. Preliminary scans indicate prodigious flora of an unknown classification. Prepare for Bio-quarantine Protocol 6. Recovery of the vessel is immanent; status of crew: unknown. Report for debriefing at SpaceHUB1821

Neanderthal Planet is a print-based installation, time capsule, and anthropological anomaly. Travel there firsthand at the Annex. Refreshments will be served.

New Work from Liz Born, Gabe Hoare, Caleb Plattner, Luke Daly, Brandy Barker & Veronica Siehl

Center on Halsted
3656 N Halsted
11:00am – 6:00pm
FREE!

The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo [CAKE] is a weekend-long celebration of independent comics, inspired by Chicago’s rich legacy as home to many of underground and alternative comics’ most talented artists– past, present and future. Featuring comics for sale, workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions and more, CAKE is dedicated to fostering community and dialogue amongst independent artists, small presses, publishers and readers.A marketplace and summit of ideas surrounding comics focused on self-expression and experimentation. Check out our guests & exhibitors, and our slate of programming!

Call For Fall Artist In Residence 2013!

About Our Residency Program
Spudnik Press’ Residency Program provides the resources, equipment, and space for one artist per season to develop a body of print-based work. We hope to encourage and enable the production of high quality prints, and to contribute to the development of an emerging Chicago artist.

Spudnik Press will provide the Residents a $250 allowance for project-specific materials and unlimited general supplies (full list is available on our website) and access to the studio. At the conclusion of the residency, Spudnik Press organizes an exhibition of the work created during the 3 month period. This program is open to all experienced printmakers. Spudnik Press does not have the ability to assist with travel and housing, and encourages only Chicago residents to apply. One Residency position is awarded per season.

We aim to provide a residency that is catered to the individual artist. Proposals may be for a traditional edition of prints, artist books, or projects involving a less conventional use of prints. Artists that wish to work collaboratively may apply together.

Download the application for complete details.
Residency Form 2013

Delivery Deadline : June 21, 2013
Fall 2013 Residency period : September 1 – November 30

Notification will be sent approximately 1 month after application deadline.

Spudnik Press seeks Keyholders
24-Hour Access for as little as $100/month

Keyholder access allows up to a dozen artists to have round the clock access to our sweet printmaking facilities. Keyholders are able to work at Spudnik Press almost round the clock! The studio is closed to keyholders during our peak class times (Tuesdays 6:30-9pm and Saturday 10-12:30pm) and the occasional weekday field trip. Otherwise, artists have free reign to utilize the whole studio, including general supplies.

Requirements:

Available to current members only.
Must be authorized to use the studio with no monitor.
We encourage using 3+ open studio sessions prior to becoming a keyholder
E-mail or call with specific questions! info@spudnikpress.org.

Rates:

The Printshop: $120 per calendar month; $300 for 3 consecutive months.
The Annex: $85 per calendar month; $200 for 3 consecutive months.
Printshop + Annex: $185 per calendar month; $450 for 3 consecutive months.

For questions and scheduling please email info@spudnikpress.com

The Teaching Artist, Bailey Romaine, is a print based artist whose work pulls strongly from language, text, and collage practices. She earned her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011, with a focus in printmedia and early modern literature and art history. Since then she has been learning to run an offset press, and working on a number of small press publications and related collaborations. She is the founder and co-editor of Scaffold, a journal for visual and text based works..

Student material list: None.
Prerequisites: None.
Authorizations: This workshop provides general Orientation to Spudnik Press.

Meets Thursday, 06/06/2013 from 6:30 – 9:00pm with Bailey Romaine | $10 suggested donation

Sorry, We’re Closed! But only for one day 🙂
Spudnik Press is excited to be hosting a private workshop, led by the talented artists behind Sonnenzimmer, Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi. Unfortunately, this workshop requires us to close the shop for one afternoon.

There will be no Orientation or Open Studio on Friday June 21. We encourage you to plan ahead and visit us instead on Thursday, June 20 @ 6:30pm or Saturday, June 22 @ 12:30pm.