Page 67 - Studio International - December 1968

The Bradford Print Biennale

A gallery director prominent in the graphics world discusses the first print biennale ever held in the
U.K., and suggests the establishment of a national collection of prints.

Rosemary Simmons

The first International Print Biennale to be held in Britain opened at symposium at which papers will be read on a variety of topics including
Cartwright Hall, Bradford City Art Gallery in Yorkshire on 23 November. the perennial problem of how to define a print and the position of
The need for such an exhibition has been discussed for years. Inter- monoprints and unique prints. Already, a month before the Biennale,
national print exhibitions are well established in Yugoslavia, Japan, some 900 people had expressed their intention to attend the lectures.
Switzerland and the United States. Graphic sections are included in Support and interest is not confined to Cartwright Hall and the
the Biennale des Jeunes in Paris and the Kassel Documenta. It seems Friends of Bradford City Art Gallery. The printmaking department at
strange that we should lag so far behind in the appreciation of graphic the Regional College of Art is working closely with the exhibition
art when our artists contribute so much. organizers. A unique three-year course on printmaking is offered at
This exhibition took shape last year when John Morley, then Director this exceptionally well-equipped college. The printmaking studios
of Cartwright Hall, considered suggestions put to him by Birgit Skiöld were open to the public during the first week of the Biennale and were
and Gillian Tressider. It was felt that the annual Spring Exhibition had visited by many parties of school children and adults. Students' work
largely outlived its usefulness and the print sections at that exhibition was displayed and David Hockney gave a stimulating criticism. The
were increasing each year, so to replace it altogether by a print biennale students also arranged a small technical display at Cartwright Hall
was a logical step. A pilot run in the form of a small show of British which was linked to an exhibition of books on printmaking at the
prints was held last Christmas and aroused considerable interest and Central Library.
support. An advisory committee was set up enlisting the experience Yorkshire members of the Design and Industries Association visited
and enthusiasm of The Arts Council, The British Council, The Victoria the college printmaking studios before the Biennale and subsequently
and Albert Museum, as well as practising artists like Anthony Gross stimulated interest in the exhibition amongst a wide group of friends
and Michael Rothenstein. and colleagues who might not otherwise have realized its significance.
The exhibition is divided into two sections: works invited from emi- The college is inviting a group of printmaking students from Brighton
nent artists and an open section. A jury consisting of S.W. Hayter, David College of Art to take part in a joint three-day project and their visit
Hockney and Jan Martinet from The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam culminates with the symposium at Cartwright Hall. In addition a five-
selected some 300 prints in the open section. The Customs and Excise day refresher course for practising art teachers is taking place imme-
allowed the City Art Gallery to become a bonded warehouse to receive diately after Christmas and will include several visits to the exhibition
foreign prints directly. By the end of September, when the jury met, as well as studio work and discussions.
Cartwright Hall was inundated by 2,000 prints from all over the world. It will be seen from this brief summary that the Print Biennale is
The strongest representation goes to Britain, Germany and U.S.A., supported by a wide range of activities which involves the College of
with Japan, Poland, Canada, Holland, Sweden, Yugoslavia and Art, schools, industry, the library service and other groups but the main
Czechoslovakia prominent. It is regrettable that France and Italy are credit must go to the City Corporation which has acted with generosity
weakly represented though a number of artists were invited to submit and foresight. Could this lead to Bradford becoming a print centre?
work. A broad trend is visible in the current preference for etching and The continuation of the exhibition every two years and the develop-
silkscreen with lithography and relief prints rather neglected. Size is ment at the College of Art of post-graduate courses and short-term
increasing and non-traditional materials including collage are evident. facilities for visiting artists to create their own prints would provide a
Entries were restricted to two-dimensional works, but perhaps in future firm basis. It needs only for Bradford to seize the opportunity and
Biennales we may see developments in the allied field of the multiple. offer a home to a National Collection of British Prints to bring this
Local support seemed unwilling to commit itself at first but the prize about. Such a collection could be based on receiving one print from
money slowly mounted to a total of £1,050. The Arts Council has made each edition published in the country. Limited edition books produced
available a prize of £200 open to both British and foreign artists and in small quantities are still bound by statute to deposit five copies in
The Giles Bequest, administered by The Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and at the other copyright libraries. Prints are often
has offered a similar prize for a British artist. The rest of the sum is made produced in similar size editions so that one extra 'hors de commerce'
up from local industry, the Friends of Bradford City Art Gallery, The print for the nation is not an unreasonable request. Most publishers
Ambassador magazine and anonymous donors. and artists would agree to this scheme. A similar arrangement increases
During the Biennale a duologue between the writer and Roy Nichol- the collection at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and has been in
son of The Northern Arts Association will take place in Cartwright Hall operation for a hundred years. Such a National Collection would be
to consider prints from the point of view of the publisher and dealer truly representative and provide excellent facilities for the historian as
and that of the artists and 'Sunday' printmakers. Also a series of lec- well as the artist. Whether such a collection is established in Bradford
tures will be given by Gillian Tressider on various aspects of print- remains to be seen but surely we need a representative body of work
making with special reference to the ways in which the technique can in the print media to be available to the public. q
influence the artist's manner of working. The lectures end with a I
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