PhotoForum 60/61: Ink & Silver.

John B. Turner (editor).

Kapil Arn, Wayne Barrar, Jill Carlyle, Jennifer Gillam, John Hawkhead, Dean Nixon, Stuart Sontier and Clive Stone.

Published by PhotoForum, 1995

ISBN 095978182X

400 x 300m, 40 pages, softcover

Gold Medal winner in 1996 Pride in Print Awards for best 2-3 colour offset production. Four photographs each by Kapil Arn, Wayne Barrar, Jill Carlyle, Jennifer Gillam, John Hawkhead, Dean Nixon, Stuart Sontier and Clive Stone. Printed in duotone and tritone offset by Graeme Chicken and Martin Schänzel.

News article from PhotoForum Newsletter, 1996:
Gold printing award for Ink & Silver

Ink & Silver the limited edition PhotoForum book produced by participants at the `Offset Printing for Photographers' workshop run by the University of Auckland, won the gold medal in the `Two or Three Colour Printing' category of the recent New Zealand Pride in Print awards. Ink & Silver was partly printed by Graeme Chicken on Elam's single colour Heidelberg press at the Elam Fine Arts Printing Research Unit, which instigated the workshop. The remaining sections were printed by Martin Schänzel, on a six-colour Heidelberg press at Colorite in Auckland. Although the School still owns its press, which is now housed in the Printing Department of the Auckland Institute of Technology and used by them, this recognition comes too late for the Elam Fine Arts Printing Research Unit itself, which was disestablished by the University in 1995. Winning the award from a field of 74 entrants from throughout New Zealand, ahead of highly commended publications for wealthy clients such as Carter Holt Harvey, and the Museum of New Zealand, is satisfying to John Turner, a Senior Lecturer in Photography, and also Director of PhotoForum. He founded the Unit in 1985 with printer Robin Lush. "The Unit proved it could do exceptional work," says Turner, "It was independent enough to be innovative and take a few risks. The Elam Calendars we produced were exemplary, and the Cinderella stamp sets along with numerous student and staff publications that we printed, simply wouldn't have been done without the Research Unit. It was our key to open up exciting opportunities for printing and publishing for artists. Our success in the Pride in Print awards demonstrates what can be done in the right creative environment, through collaboration between artists and the printing industry. " Organised as a collaborative venture between the Elam Fine Arts Printing Research Unit and the Centre for Continuing Education at The University of Auckland, with PhotoForum, the Offset Printing for Photographers workshop was taught by visiting U.S. photographer Morrie Camhi and John B. Turner, in January 1995.
The resulting book features the work of photographers Kapil Arn, Jennifer Gillam, Dean Nixon, Stuart Sontier, and Clive Stone from Auckland, Wanganui photographer Wayne Barrar, Jill Carlyle of Tokomaru Bay, and John Hawkhead of Dunedin. The reason for this workshop and publication, Turner points out, was due to the frustration felt by New Zealand photographers at the relatively low quality of printing done by local printers to date. "The need for a book of this kind was to prove that our printers could rise to the occasion and make exemplary reproductions of `black & white' photographs, such as those enjoyed by the visiting American photographer, Morrie Camhi, whose work had been reproduced by top American offset printers in California and New York."

Turner insists that the printer must be responsive to the different expressive needs of photographers in order to reproduce their work properly. The printers of Ink & Silver, Graeme Chicken and Martin Schänzel, agree. Chicken, who printed on Elam's single colour press said, "This has been a wonderful opportunity for me to try different techniques that I don't have time to explore with commercial work."
And for Martin Schänzel, who printed for Colorite, and recently moved to Dunedin, said that the workshop helped him refine his technique. "It was an incredible learning experience having the photographers with me on the machine. They were quite assertive as to what they wanted and pushed my skills as a printer."

A lavish book of photographs in its own right, Ink & Silver, as well as providing a quality showcase for the eight photographers and two printers, is intended to help other photographers. "The idea," says Turner, who both edited and designed the book, "is that Ink & Silver can be used by photographers to show their printers the colour and tonal variations they would like for their own work, simply by pointing to a specific reproduction with the qualities they are after."

The publication of Ink & Silver was generously supported by Spicer Cowan Paper, Colorite, MH Imaging, Crystal Colour Graphics, Nova Inks & Chemicals, and the book's printers. Distributed to key curators and institutions in the U.S. by Morrie Camhi, who wrote an extensive account of the Offset Printing for Photographers workshop for LensWork Quarterly (No. 10, [Northern Hemisphere] Summer 1995. Called `Hedonism in Far Off Places', Morrie's article was billed as `A recent workshop in New Zealand provides a hedonistic experience - often considered "excess living" - with participants savouring the collective "well done" as they expand beyond traditional photographic boundaries to the world of ink and paper.' Ink & Silver has received wide recognition from both photographers and the printing industry. And, best of all, good New Zealand photographs have gone out into the world in the best possible manner. Less than 100 copies of this numbered limited edition book are still available for sale to the public at $120 each, direct from PhotoForum Inc., P.O. Box 5657, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1. The price to PhotoForum members is still $80.

- Kim Reed

Offset Printing workshop, an insiders view on Ink & silver by participant Dean Nixon:

“...and John Turner created chaos; and we (eventually) saw that it was good. It took the form of the Offset Printing for Photographers Workshop, held at Elam in January under his auspices, with the guiding light of Morrie Camhi. Morrie is a well known photographer from San Fransisco - to be exact, a small chicken- farming town called Petaluma, but then to be even more exact we should call him a philosopher or guru-mentor type.

In their tender care for the three intense weeks were eight photographers...certainly amongst them names to look out for in the future (if not already) : Kapil Arn, Wayne Barrar, Jill Carlyle, Jennifer Gillam, John Hawkhead, Dean Nixon, Stuart Sontier, and Clive Stone. However, this was no mere photographers exclusive domain: two printers - Graeme Chicken and Martin Schanzel - were present, playing a pivotal role. This was the expressed purpose of the workshop - to produce a book. Yawn?... but wait; the finest book! Reproduction so good that for the accompanying exhibition, most of the photographers reprinted their work in order to attempt to do justice to the quality of the printed page.

My impression that this was going to be an interesting workshop was to be shattered, however. The organisation of this episode initially left a lot to be desired. As the time passed, I could see that this had benefits - major impact, mind-bending concepts, soul-shaking ideas, along with a few tips that even the ‘gods’ among us bent an ear to. Morrie was able to mould this chaos with gentle words and a masterly tutor’s years of experience. The workshop became an epic journey. In a few weeks each of us had garnered considerable insights and had been forced to re-evaluate our own directions.

The work each brought was dissected by the group and analysed astutely by Morrie. Final selections were made by the individuals, for four photographs each, to be used in The Book, but only after the reasons for these choices was thoroughly discussed. The layout of the book, although alphabetical, was carefully arranged in consultation with photographers and printers.

The printers role was then brought in to determine how each photograph was to be treated. The result far exceeded our expectations and we are confident that this book will now set the benchmark for all others to attempt to follow.

Every day brought something new - Morrie interspersed each session with interesting, far-ranging discussions, lectures, and analysis of notable photographic works and essays: from technical problem solving through to the (seriously) meaning of life. Specific topics included: motivation, patronage, portfolios, archival practice, printing for reproduction, 35mm zone system, projects, publishing and money, book design, and much more. These in turn were further interspersed with Morrie’s stories and anecdotes - some of them even vaguely relevant. In all of this, however, Morrie’s wit, wisdom, and sensitivity touched each one of us. Certainly all were able to take something of this into their own psyches.

I, for one, will remember to be “as honest as I can be to what I think I see, and what I think I understand, and to try to ensure that people can see in my photographs the things I thought I saw myself”, ...and the one about the bald man, and...”

Dean Nixon