FOFA Gallery brings in Big Ink
On Saturday, November 18, The Big Tuna will be installed in the atrium just outside the FOFA Gallery. The giant mobile press, run by the American-based collective Big Ink, will be the centrepiece of Surface Inc., a one-day live public printing event that explores the collaborative and democratic potential of the woodcut.
“Big Ink runs a fully functional mobile print shop that travels across North America, offering artists and the general public the chance to create large-scale prints,” says FOFA Gallery director Jennifer Dorner.
The press is designed to print large scale woodcuts and everyone who comes to the exhibition will have the chance to get some ink on their hands.
While Big Ink is responsible for orchestrating the group show and visual performance aspect of the event, Surface Inc. is a collaboration between the American collective, artist and part-time Studio Arts instructor Bonnie Baxter, her students in the Print Media program and the FOFA Gallery. The Fine Arts Student Alliance also provided the funding to realize the initiative.
The printing press in the digital age
Baxter first approached Dorner about inviting Big Ink to Concordia.
“We thought about the evolution of communications and this idea of going back to the physical reality, real space, real time, and looking at the significance of the printing press in the context of a public forum.”
One aim of the event is to explore the significance of the printing press and the history of public communication, especially in the age of social media and fake news, Dorner explains.
“What does it mean to carve out a message – quite literally – and to consider the marks that we are putting out into the world?”
Activities for all ages
People of all ages can take inspiration from this incredible machine, says Dorner.
Visitors can make prints using woodcuts that Concordia Print Media students have prepared. Children can create a collaborative mural on a large roll of paper. Students will also offer face painting for kids. They will also see Print Media students in action, creating large format prints on The Big Tuna.
Léah Snider, a PhD student in Art Education and FOFA Gallery research intern, worked with the undergraduate print media students to create the framework for the project. Students have been working on the project for weeks, using modern equipment like laser engravers to make wood cuts and the medium has really forced students to focus on what they want to communicate, she says.
“Bonnie and I were both interested in the commitment that’s required when you undertake a large work. Something this size requires a commitment of time, strength and perseverance from a student. It will be a public work. People will ask you questions. You have to commit to an idea.”
“That’s something I learned from studying art education: people have to make their work as relevant to themselves as to others. We want to make sure that everyone gets something out of the event.”