SITES (Smithsonian Institution Taveling Exhibition Service)



from SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service)
(press release for the show) News Release PRESSED ON PAPER: FISH RUBBINGS AND NATURE PRINTS The renewed interest by American artists in the ancient art of nature printing is celebrated in an exhibit opening at (venue location) on (start date). The exhibit continues through (end date). Nature prints are produced by applying ink or pigment to a plant, leaf, fish, shell, rock or other natural history object and then placing a piece of paper over the object and rubbing the paper. The result is a striking image that simply and precisely captures the subtle and graceful beauty of nature. The 55 works on view, representing 26 printmakers from the United States and Canada, was organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Nature Printing Society. It is the largest and most comprehensive selection of nature prints by American artists ever assembled. The exhibit is being circulated throughout the United States under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Impressions of plants and fishes have been produced for centuries in all parts of the world. Plant printing flourished in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries when the method was used to illustrate herbals and other books on plant life. The techniques of fish printing, or gyotaku, were developed in the Orient in the early 1800s as a means of recording a fisherman's catch. With the invention of the halftone process and the advent of photographs, many nature printing techniques were lost and forgotten. But in recent years, techniques have been discovered and refined into a highly sophisticated and unique American art form. SITES is a program activity of the Smithsonian Institution that organizes and circulates exhibitions on art, history, and science to institutions in the United States and abroad. For further information, please contact: SITES (202) 357-3168. See the original poster for the show. (original itinerary) Booking Periods and Locations North American Tour 1981 April 4 - May 31 National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution, Wash., D.C., USA June 27 - September 13 American Museum of Natural History New York, New York, USA October 3 - November 1 Bell Museum of Natural History Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 1982 February 27 - March 28 Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA April 17 - May 16 Museums at Sunrise Charleston, West Virginia, USA July 24 - August 22 Minnesota Zoo Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA September 11 - October 10 National Museum of National Sciences Ontario, Ontario, CANADA October 30 - November 28 Gordon Library, Worcester Polytechnic Worcester, Mass., USA December 18 - January 16, 1983 Texas Memorial Museum Austin, Texas, USA 1983 February 5 - March 6 Guild Hall Museum East Hampton, New York, USA March 26 - April 24 University of Minnesota, Fine Arts Ctr. Morris, Minnesota, USA May 14 - June 12 Science Museum of Virginia Richmond, Virginia, USA July 2 - September 18 California Academy of Sciences San Francisco, California, USA (see the original article from the museum magazine) October 8 - December 25 Pacific Science Center Seattle, Washington, USA 1984 January 14 - February 12 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska, USA March 3 - April 1 Monongalia Arts Center Morgantown, West Virginia, USA April 21 - May 20 Toledo Zoo Toledo, Ohio, USA July 28 - August 26 Provincial Museum of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA September 15 - October 14 Natural History Museum of L. A. County Los Angeles, California, USA November 3 - February 23, 1985 Boston Museum of Science Boston, Massachusetts, USA Australian Tour 1985 June – August Australia Museum Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA September – November Museum of Victoria Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA 1986 January – February Northern Territory Museum of Arts & Sciences Darwin, Northern Territories, AUSTRALIA April – June Western Australian Museum Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA July – August Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery Hobart, Tasmania, AUSTRALIA September – October Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery Launceston, Victoria, AUSTRALIA no. of pieces: 80 weight: 975 lbs. running meters: 65 est. (200 ft. est.) no. of crates: 2 See the original poster for the show.