I love print. I love words on a physical page held in my hands. I love the texture of paper and the smell of old books. I love interesting editorial design that creates an experience greater than the sum of its parts. If you’ve ever been to Southwest Contemporary’s offices, you may have seen my collection of independent magazines from around the world, which is always growing (here’s an open invitation to come say hi and take a look!).
It is no wonder, then, that with this issue we launch into a new phase of this publication’s life (now in its 28th year), with a re-investment in print in a massively upgraded print format and quality, even as we make huge strides in growing our digital presence and international audience online. This upgrade is a culmination of so much work by the Southwest Contemporary team. We are finally able to offer our community a vehicle that matches the high caliber our content (one of our writers Jenn Shapland recently won a national art writing prize from the Rabkin Foundation, and we are finalists for a national magazine award—the Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards—also for Jenn’s writing) and of the work we cover. We are finally able to offer our community of artists and advertisers more accurate reproduction of artwork images. We are also able to offer print publications that are better able to stand the test of time, contributing to an archive of New Mexico contemporary arts with every new issue.
It made sense to us to mark this occasion with an issue that explores printed matter and printmaking across various features and columns. Our Studio Visit features Broken Cloud Press, the imprint of book artist Erin Mickelson. Mezzotint? Aquatint? Intaglio? Get the lowdown on all those fun printmaking terms in “Impressions From the Past: The Rich History and Modern Processes of Printmaking” by new contributor Marya Errin Jones, with illustrations by Chris Philpot. Maggie Grimason talks zine culture in “Still in Print,” and Titus O’Brien profiles Valpuri Remling, master printer at Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque. I got to visit with Tom Leech, curator of the historic Palace Press in downtown Santa Fe, and Angie Rizzo profiled printmaker and educator Yoshiko Shimano for “New Mexico Women.”
As with any thematic issue, this issue is far from comprehensive, and we are left with even more ideas and questions around tackling this rich area now than when we began, and hope to revisit some of the artists, printmakers, and studios that we discovered for future issues.
In other news, I’m excited to announce our second annual open call for artists to submit to our “12 New Mexico Artists to Know Now” special February-March issue and group exhibition opening on February 28, 2020, at Southwest Contemporary. Artists living and working in New Mexico are welcome to submit artwork in any medium. You can find the submission form here. The deadline for submissions is Friday, November 15, 2019.
Lastly, we also have an open call for salon presentations posted on our site as well. Proposals for presentations at our upcoming salon series are accepted on a rolling basis. We are looking for an eclectic array of work, talents, and interests! The Better Wednesdays salon series kicks off on Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 pm at Southwest Contemporary (1415 W Alameda St, Santa Fe). You can find further info and register here, I hope you can make it to this engaging, intimate event!
In gratitude,
Lauren Tresp
editor + publisher, Southwest Contemporary + The Magazine
lauren@southwestcontemporary.com
1415 W Alameda St, Santa Fe, NM 87501
