{"id":3972,"date":"2019-06-19T16:28:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:28:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/?p=3972"},"modified":"2019-06-19T16:28:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:28:40","slug":"using-words-as-mirrors-book-and-letterpress-class-helps-explore-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/2019\/06\/19\/using-words-as-mirrors-book-and-letterpress-class-helps-explore-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Words as Mirrors \u2014 Book and Letterpress Class Helps Explore Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laurie Laker \u201912
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy work explores questions of race and identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about living in America,\u201d explains Ben Blount, the Detroit native designer and letterpress printer, as well as visiting professor for his Block 6 class, Book and Book Structure.<\/p>\n

Born and raised it the Motor City, Blount studied graphic design at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. After college, he worked as a designer for several years before returning to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d always had an interest in design, typography, and books as a form, and I took an evening class at Columbia College Chicago to learn how to use a printing press,\u201d recalls Blount. Columbia College Chicago is a college that specializes in arts and media disciplines across all areas of creative expression, and it was only when Blount started those evening classes that he learned of full-time graduate program there, and that his path in life had to change slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been on my way to design school, but that evening class made me switch gears. I refocused, worked towards and received an MFA in Book and Paper Arts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really attracted me to it was the tactile nature of the craft, how interactive it could be. I loved manipulating type! It\u2019s also really cool just how much everyday language comes from printing; mind your p\u2019s and q\u2019s, out of sorts, hot off the press, make an impression \u2013 all these phrases have their origins in print work, so it\u2019s a really impactful medium of work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Now based in Chicago, Blount has a \u201cday job\u201d as an Art Director for an advertising agency in the Windy City, and still finds time to devote to his socially conscious printing and letterpress work.<\/p>\n

His design is all client-based work, and Blount strives to maintain an emotional, meaningful lens to all his work,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe printing work, and my ad work, it all comes from something emotional. It\u2019s all about finding and expressing something more meaningful, even if it\u2019s someone else\u2019s work that you\u2019re putting your own spin on, as I do for my day job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople get into this for all sorts of reasons,\u201d he says. \u201cSome are interested in design and art, others like making things or problem solving. You can get into it through an interest in typography, as I did, or you can have an interest in printmaking, it really varies.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Block 6 class at CC was his first time ever teaching undergraduate students, and Blount arrived at CC not quite knowing what to expect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really great experience, I loved it,\u201d he says. \u201cI had a wide variety of students, from a few senior art majors who already had they had been introduced to printing, but I wouldn\u2019t say they could print to an English major who brought their writing and poetry into the letterpress work. Everyone brought something to the table, and they all came with a level of responsibility and competency that was really encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Press at Colorado College, now in its 41st\u00a0year since being established in 1978, has two full-sized printing presses, a composing and drafting room, and a huge variety of type options, materials, and inspirational pieces for students to draw upon.<\/p>\n

The time pressures of a class on the Block Plan are unique for every area of study, but with artistic expression and creativity, there\u2019s a particular emphasis on being pushed for time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody lagged,\u201d jokes Blount. \u201cAll the students were pretty conscientious with their work, but also brave \u2013 they\u2019d try more difficult things than necessary to finish their assignments! Letterpress work takes years to master, and they were trying difficult and creatively cool things with asmallwindow of hours, it was inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some figures and artists of inspiration to Blount include master printer Amos Kennedy, who taught a Dynamic Half-Block at the college this January called Slinging Ink.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmos Kennedy visited my class in graduate school, and my work took a real turn after I talked with him,\u201d recalls Blount.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also took a huge amount of inspiration from Audrey Niffenegger while at Columbia College Chicago,\u201d Blount says. Niffenegger co-founded the Center for the Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, and works as both an academic and an artist across printing, as well as an author, best known for her 2009 novel, The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Music plays an important role in Blount\u2019s life and work, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a huge hip-hop head,\u201d he says. \u201cTheir wordplay, how they tell stories, the constant references to the past and retellings, that\u2019s what I try to do visually, too. MC\u2019s like Mos Def and Black Thought, they\u2019re geniuses!\u201d<\/p>\n

Blount\u2019s own work deals with identity, race, and culture, \u201cI\u2019m trying to have a conversation with the viewer,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not using print work as a confrontation option, but a conversational one, trying to represent and explore topics visually that may be uncomfortable for some people verbally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of particular interest and focus for Blount at the moment is the work of \u201cexploring and solving problems around white supremacy,\u201d he says. \u201cThe issue is, it\u2019s really hard to move forward linguistically because we\u2019re not all coming to this conversation with the same language basis, which is where the visual element of print can be useful, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The focus of Blount\u2019s work coincided with the release of the initial report from the college\u2019s external review on racism and anti-racism, conducted by Dr. Roger Worthington and colleagues from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education at the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Worthington report inspired a lot of the work I did while at CC,\u201d Blount says. \u201cAnti-racism seems a step beyond the normal diversity and inclusioninitiatives you see at a larger organization, which was encouraging. I tried to figure out what I could pull from the report, from being on campus around the students, and events of the day with speakers like Shaun King and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immersing himself in the life of the college was of paramount importance to Blount, and this included a presentation on art, race, and identity called \u201cSee Something Say Something in the Tutt Library Event Space in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cCC is an amazing place,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was important to me that I got involved as a member of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe press is very cool. It\u2019s really great to see people of all majors from across the community come through the press, utilizing the space and people like Aaron Cohick as resources, not simply art majors. It\u2019s a real community, and I loved being a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laurie Laker \u201912 \u201cMy work explores questions of race and identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about living in America,\u201d explains Ben Blount, the Detroit native designer and letterpress printer, as well as visiting professor for his Block 6 class, Book and Book Structure. Born and raised it the Motor City, Blount studied graphic … <\/p>\n

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