In s3e66 of Platemark, host Ann Shafer talks with Jennifer Roberts, an art historian and professor at Harvard, about her latest book, Contact: Art and the Pull of Print, which explores the intersection of intellectual and technical richness in print. Jennifer's book offers a fresh perspective on printmaking, synthesizing simple maneuvers like reversal and pressure to account for the medium's expansive influence. Based on her acclaimed Mellon Lectures delivered during the pandemic, the book is both conversational and accessible, aiming to engage a wide audience beyond the traditional confines of print expertise.
They also talk about Jennifer's journey into the world of print, which began during her research into the movement and dissemination of images within the Anglo-American world during the 18th and 19th centuries. Initially focused on the path of oil paintings, she inadvertently found herself immersed in the world of prints, specifically currency engraving—an intricate craft demanding the production of unreplicable reproductive objects to combat counterfeiting.
Jennifer shares insights from her 20+ years of teaching where she emphasizes long looking at objects (3 hours!) and integrates studio and theoretical learning. Additionally, Jennifer discusses an exciting collaboration with artist Dario Robleto. Their joint work delves into the fascinating realm of printed sound, specifically examining the Golden Record—a phonographic record sent into space on the Voyager probes. This project exemplifies Jennifer's penchant for exploring the intersections of materiality, meaning, and communication within both earthly and cosmic contexts, as well as the intersections of art, science, and the evolution of visual culture.
Cover photo: Sharona Jacobs
Bio https://haa.fas.harvard.edu/people/jennifer-roberts
IG @jenniferrrrrroberts
Jennifer Roberts’s books and lectures
Contact: Art and the Pull of Print, 2024
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691255859/contact-art-and-the-pull-of-print?srsltid=AfmBOoq_6iSOwrkK9suakEqQRn7TWwBvOj4zyh0Gf3zLcw4gvTpA2uC3
Mellon Lectures, National Gallery of Art
https://www.nga.gov/research/casva/meetings/mellon-lectures-in-the-fine-arts/roberts-2021.html
Transporting Visions: The Movement of Images in Early America, 2014 https://www.ucpress.edu/books/transporting-visions/hardcover
Jasper Johns/In Press: The Crosshatch Works and the Logic of Print, 2012
https://shop.harvardartmuseums.org/products/jasper-johns-in-press-the-crosshatch-works-and-the-logic-of-print
The Metamorphic Press: Jasper Johns and the Monotype, 2017
https://www.academia.edu/35947545/The_Metamorphic_Press_Jasper_Johns_and_the_Monotype_2017_
