OUGD406 STUDIO BRIEF 3 - THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD PRINT FAIR

On 21-22 March 2015 The Hepworth was host to a print fair, from stallholders from around the UK, all exhibiting prints of their own, most available to buy. This was a really interesting experience as I got to see a whole range of printing methods, and how these had been applied to products such as purses and cushions. There was such a wide range of styles, from more graphic, sleek lined prints to messy colographs, which was fascinating to see them all together in one room.
There was also a stall there from Leeds College of Art students, which was one of my favourite stalls as a lot of the work was very bold, colourful and clean, which is the style that I like the most, and which my work generally is produced in.
I found the signage for the print fair very similar to the style we are producing for the Leeds Central Library exhibition. The colours are very monotone and simple, with the titles all a sans serif uppercase typeface that have close leading and kerning, and positioned in as far upper left corner as possible, overlapping with the thick white border, which is the same style we have used in our branding.

Entryway.

A little bit about opening times, and how to find out more, including a arrow signalling where to go to get inside.

Introductory sign, saying what the fair is all about. It's interesting how everything is contained within a square-ish box, perhaps a reference to printing on paper, and paper sizes. Perhaps this would be appropriate for the branding for our exhibition, as all the prints are on A4 size.

I found the print on this card really interesting and simple, yet brought to life through the use of fluorescent paint that's been printed with against a cream coloured stock.

These are prints from the 20:20 print exchange, where each artist creates 25 prints in 20x20cm format and pays £10, then receives 20 random prints (including one of their own), from all the other artists taking part. These 20 prints then go on tours around the UK in different galleries. I thought this was a really interesting yet simple idea, as you just have to produce one print and then receive 19 others from other artists, which is a great deal, and then your work gets to be exhibited round the country as well as part of this collection. As you can see these prints are of varying printing methods and styles, anything goes as long as you work within the 20x20cm size restriction.

Inside the print fair. On the left you can see the Leeds College of Art stall.

The Calder building, where the fair was hosted, The Hepworth's sister gallery and less than 50m's away.

 We got the train to Wakefield Kirkgate to go to The Hepworth gallery, and I thought there was something very aesthetically appealing about the station which is having major refurbishments at the moment. I liked the rich red coloured metalwork contrasting against the brilliant blue sky, and the glass in the shelter part as well, reflecting the lights and the metalwork.

Souvenir's from the day:

Whilst walking round the print fair, I collected business cards and flyers from some of my favourite stalls, and it was really interesting to see that a lot of the business cards were the mini size, around half the size, sometimes smaller that the traditional business card size, which I thought might be to save on printing costs, so you get more for your money. I picked up business cards from The Store Hus, Coo & Co, NB, Charlotte Bolton, who studies Surface Pattern at Leeds College of Art, and Lauren Feather. I also picked up flyers from West Yorkshire Print Workshop, The Lost Fox, Colours May Vary, and Rumble in the Jungle workshop at B&B Gallery.

This is a print I bought by Sophie Hargreaves, who also goes to Leeds College of Art. It's a screen print from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I love the bright pink colour against the white stock and black details, and the clean lines of this as well, how graphic and cute it appears with the rounded quality of the face.

This post card really interested me, a lino print by Helen Peyton. I love the use of only two colours, grey and blue, however the varying shades of each, giving it added detail and creating shape. Although this print looks very detailed what's interesting it that it is actually quite simple, made up of a lot of different basic shapes.

Going to The Hepworth print fair was really beneficial to me as I got to have a look at the signage for a smaller, similar in size, maybe bigger than the exhibition we have at Leeds Central Library, but not on the same scale as a lot of other larger exhibitions. It also opened my eyes to the great extent of different print methods, and made me think that I shouldn't just stick to digital printing, but my work would benefit form me using different printing methods.