Past Self is a broadside I designed and printed as part of ‘Between The Lines’ Poetry reading and print launch at Center for Book Arts, October 2021, in collaboration with writer Scott Munro, as a variable edition of 100 hand-toned cyanotypes.
Between the Lines was a reading and print launch event presenting six poetry and print collaborations between NYC-based artists and incarcerated writers, curated by Rowan Renee. Each collaboration explores the printed multiple as a powerful vehicle to build relationships and dialogue across prison walls. Through combining text and visual language, this reading amplifies the lived experience of incarcerated people and celebrates the resilience of the creative spirit.
As part of Center for Book Arts Chapbook Contest, an annual program that awards authors with the publication of a limited edition letterpress printed chapbook & broadside, I produced this broadside of Emily Bludworth de Barrios’ poem “In the Restaurant El Aljibe.”
Letterpress print on silver gelatin matte fiber paper. Each print is a unique photogram creating a variable edition of 100. Designed and printed by Claudia Kaatziza Cortínez at the Center for Book Arts in honor of the poet’s reading October 22nd, 2020.
‘Transcription from an NYPD Walkie Talkie Found After a Scuffle between Protestors and Police at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal’ is a poetry broadside designed and letterpress printed by Claudia Kaatziza Cortinez at Center for Book Arts in honor of the poet Zahra Patterson’s reading at Center for Book Arts on October 1st, 2020.
Each paper is hand-dyed and unique, and interacts with the silver letterpress ink differently on each print. Depending on the angle of the paper parts of the text and image shift in and out of legibility and reflectivity. Variable Edition of 100.
Zahra Patterson’s poem, a text culled from a found walkie talkie transcription of fragmented police interactions during the BLM protests in 2014, takes on increasing resonance and potency today. My inspiration for the print design came from various experiences navigating NYC streets and protests during 2020 and in particular this photograph (1st image) I took of a boarded up window where graffiti has been painted over, but the message persists through surface shine.
