Exhibit Details

February 8 - May 16, 2010

The Hawn Gallery was the venue for "Books by Peter Koch." Koch, a printer based in Berkeley, California, is founder and director of the Codex, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the art and craft of the book. Since 1974, Koch has designed, printed and published fine books and ephemera ranging from limited editions of classical Greek literature to conference posters and keepsakes. This exhibition drew from the collections of SMU's Bridwell, DeGolyer, and Hamon Libraries to showcase examples of Koch's work as a master printer.

Koch writes:

I am a designer/printer which means that, whenever possible, I design what I print, and I print what I design. Only under these ideal circumstances can a designer safely demand exacting and often unreasonable standards of perfection of his printer. I should add, however, that the above statement holds true only if the aforementioned designer/printer has a high threshold of tolerance for self-inflicted torture.

An illustrated lecture by Peter Koch, "Printing in the Shadow of Aldus Manutius," took place on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 5:30 pm at the Meadows Museum. Koch described his experiences as 2005 artist-in-residence at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica Venezia when he was printing the edition of Watermark (housed at the Hamon) that was featured in the exhibition.

The exhibition was organized in conjunction with a new University Honors Program seminar, ARHS 4330: The Technology of Print, taught by associate professor Lisa Pon.

Exhibit Details