Doubting Thomases
Curated by Alex Lukas
September 10th – October 8th 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, September 10 from 7 – 10 pm
Doubting Thomases brings together eight Philadelphia-based artists who utilize printmaking techniques and self-printed materials, generally thought of as mediums of multiple, and incorporate them into one-of-a-kind works. With strong backgrounds in ‘zine making, silk screening in basements, and feeding the wrong type of paper through the Xerox machine at Kinkos, the artists in this exhibition are well versed in figuring out how to do it for themselves. It is this work ethic, coupled with a knowledge of traditional printmaking techniques and etiquette, that inspire the artists’ rejection of the notion that printed materials are strictly intended for duplication and therefore inherently less valuable.
Loosely centered around the Philadelphia artist collective Space 1026, Doubting Thomases includes work in which the artists have screen printed over drawings, drawn over prints, cut up their own prints and collaged them back together, painted over photographs, and pretty much done whatever else works knowing that the result will be hard to define and not really caring. Please just don’t call it “mixed media” or ask what the edition size is.