Lecture on Marbling

Gardens of the Imagination:
Traditions of Paper Marbling in Asia and the Islamic World
A free public presentation by Jake Benson
Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center
8230 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring MD
Friday October 14, 2005
7-8 pm
<URL:http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/studio/papermaking.htm>

This lecture is meant to raise awareness among contemporary artists
and craftspeople about the art of marbling.  Yet it will also be of
great interest to Librarians, Curators, Scholars, Conservators, and
Collectors and others who encounter marbled papers during the course
of their work or research.  This event will hopefully serve to
inspire further identification and publication of marbled papers
within public and private collections in the US and abroad.  In
addition to scholars and curatorial staff, specialists in Asian and
Islamic art and culture are especially encouraged to attend.

General Description:  Join marbler and historian Jake Benson for a
cross-cultural visual exploration of the art of marbling.  Many
people are familiar with marbled designs from contemporary
commercial packaging, graphic design, professional matting, and
bookbinding.  Yet comparatively few fully understand just how these
curious designs are created, much less  familiar with the very rich
history and wide variety of specialized applications for marbled
paper found in different cultures.

The lecture will cover the latest research and insight into the
earliest forms of marbling in East Asia, including an overview of
suminagashi papers found in important Japanese manuscripts.  Methods
of marbling in the Eastern Islamic world will be presented in
detail, concentrating on areas in Central Asia, South Asia, and
Western Asia. The lecture will not only look at variant methods of
marbling,  but also the historical role of marbling in manuscript
production.

A selection of works by famous calligraphers and poets written
directly over the surface of a marbled sheet will be shown.  In
addition, a detailed examination of the incorporation of marbling
into painting and illustration will be offered. Many of the images
the will be presented have either not been published or are not
widely recognized.  Finally, the relationship of these early methods
to the development of marbling in Europe and America will be briefly
covered.

On the following day, Saturday October 15th, Pyramid Atlantic will
host a daylong intensive workshop on traditional and contemporary
forms of Japanese suminagashi marbling taught by Mr. Benson.  For
directions to the Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, please follow the
link to the center's web site listed at the top of this
announcement.  A full description of the workshop has been posted on
the Pyramid Atlantic web site and can be viewed by clicking on the
direct link below, and look for the second workshop listed.  A
registration form in adobe PDF format is available at

    <URL:http://www.pyramidatlanticartcenter.org/
        studio/papermaking.htm>

clicking the link at the bottom of the page.

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:12
                Distributed: Wednesday, August 31, 2005
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