Etching Curator's Log

The curator is seldom seen but sees to it that the living prints' records are correct and rules followed.

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He was on the floor when I came. It startled me, seeing him in a tortured position like that, his legs spread way out and him gripping his toe-tips. Twisting his head toward me he said, "I'm stretching," his voice tight. I went ahead and unpacked the damp paper. He finished his stretches and got a drink of water.

"Running?" I asked him. "Fun-running," he answered, with emphasis on fun, and then he told me about the "Living Prints Fun Run" that his studios sponsored for fundraising. I guess some of the money is going to that American-Russian exchange project.

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I went in to ask him if there are any videotapes on curating prints. He was sitting in a tilted-back chair, his hands clasped behind his head, looking up at the high shelves of videos. Without looking at me, and without me saying anything, he said, "I'm imagining these tapes-their spines-as a picture, like a painting."

First I thought he was going to talk about trompe l'oie, but no. "If I look at one title, say ' Artists' Bookworks' up there on the left, and let's say I painted that. Like a painter painting anything he or she knows about, the more you know, the deeper the painting, the richer the meaning. At least to that person. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, do you have any tapes on curating?" "Artists Bookworks," he said, smiling, "is about a librarian and how she takes care of artists' books. That's as close as I ever came." He hesitated, then he said, "I'm thinking about a new curating concept, from this video curating project. It's called 'curating Living Prints.'"

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I knew I was going beyond my duties as curator, but I felt like I needed to find some way of showing how complicated these prints really are. Why not have a "disclaimer" and a "Warranty"? Especially in this so-called "Information Age."

	Artist's Diary	The artist provides the vision and imagery of the living print, laboring after the compelling image.
	Printer's Notes	The printer performs many tasks to keep prints alive, crafting and designing solutions to problems the artist, curator and publisher propose.
	Publisher's Journal	The publisher produces the bases for living prints by supporting all the players and keeping communications clear and on course.
	Professor's Papers	The professor explains the living print, the history of printmaking, and keeps the academic community informed.

©1999 Bill H. Ritchie, Jr. ritchie@seanet.com