In episode 3, Ann and Tru finally start talking about an artist. While there are artists of note before Dürer--say Martin Schongauer--he really changes everything. From his monogram claiming authorship to marketing his works, Dürer is the man. So much so that Ann and Tru only get through half of his story. A second episode, episode 204, continues Dürer's story. 

As promised in the episode, here is a link to the Metropolitan Museum's impression of The Fall of Man aka Adam and Eve. You can zoom in really tight and see all the crazy, wonderful detail by clicking on this link: The Fall of Man. Also, for fun, included with the images is an early state of The Fall of Man from the Albertina's collection. Always fascinating to see how an artist builds an image.

Images are credited to their collection/institution and are in the public domain. They appear in the order they are discussed. 

Platemark series two | History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In episode 2, Ann and Tru lay out the beginnings of printing in the West in the 1400s. It all starts with the printing of the Bible. Tru describes the role of paper, books, and prints in the fifteenth century. Also they talk about who would be the audience for these new, accessible treasures. The beginning of the printing press and moveable type is probably the single most important development in human history. 

During the episode, a handful of prints are talked about specifically. Images and captions are below. 

Platemark series two: History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

With Platemark episode 108, we came to the end of the first series of Platemark. We may add occasional bonus episodes, but for the moment, we are moving on to series two.

Platemark series two, History of Prints (HoP) will dive into the history of Western prints and printmaking from their inception, c. 1400, and bring listeners on a journey all the way up to the present. For this series we have a new co-host, Tru Ludwig. If you've been following along, you will have heard me speak about Tru in other contexts. It was Tru who taught the history of prints for Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) using the print collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA).

Tru has an uncanny ability to engage students, even for the nearly four hours of standing and looking at prints required for each visit to the BMA's print room. Over the years, I've heard many a former student say Tru's class was their favorite class ever. The first episode features Ann and Tru talking about that class, the form it took, how we pulled it off, and the class's impact on hundreds of young artists.

Before we reach the first artist, Albrecht Dürer, we will release several episodes laying the ground work, including on the subject of the early history of printing and paper in Europe, Ann and Tru's art origins, materials and techniques, and the  unusual position Tru occupies as both artist and art historian. 
 
As episodes progress, images will be viewable on here. The podcast is available here and from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, and iHeart Radio.
 
We welcome your comments and questions and hope you will share the podcast episodes with your friends. 

For clarity, here's Tru's bio:

Tru Ludwig is an artist and art historian specializing in prints and printmaking. Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, he earned his BA in studio art and art history, with a minor in music history, from St. Olaf College. He holds an MA in art history from the George Washington University, and an MFA in printmaking and drawing from Towson University. Since 1999, he has taught in the Art Education, Art History, First Year Experience, and Printmaking departments at the Maryland Institute College of Art; and art history at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Ludwig's studio practice is devoted to large-scale woodcuts and multi-plate etchings which have been shown on four continents and are included in collections across the United States.

Platemark series two | History of Prints
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In the final episode in series one, Ann and Ben talk about the print ecosystem: collaborative printmaking, print publishing, galleries, art fairs, and the fabulous cast of characters that inhabit the print world.

Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

Ann has a new podcast called The Curator's Choice in which she talks about one object (or set of objects) and why she likes it, how she would pitch it, and other behind-the-thinking stuff.

​Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In episode 107, Ann and Ben turn to prints and printmaking. They evangelize about how wonderful prints are, why they are different and special, why it takes work to get over the hump of understanding the technical prior to comprehending content. They discuss how technique can inform meaning, how the translation of an image from one surface to another only adds interest and conceptual rigor, and the ins and outs of multiplicity.

​Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

The Print Council of America recently updated an essay on their website answering the question: what is an original print. You can find that essay here: https://printcouncil.org/defining-a-print/

Editions are the topic of this bonus episode. Ann and Ben talk about the ins and outs of editions: definitions, numbering, exceptions, the publisher-artist relationship. It's definitely not simple.

​Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In episode 106, Ann and Ben continue their conversation about the Western canon, the state of museums in the twenty-first century, and discuss breaking down the systems that formed the modern museum. They also talk about calls for decolonization and matters of racial and gender equity in museums both in terms of artists shown and collected as well as staffing.

​Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond

In this bonus episode, Ann and Ben talk about how they got into this art thing in the first place. Seems it helped to have artists in the family.

​Platemark series one
Co-hosts: Ann Shafer and Ben Levy
Producer: Ann Shafer
Theme music: Michael Diamond