"HALFTONE PRINTING IN THE YIDDISH PRESS AND OTHER OBJECTS OF IDOL WORSHIP," IS THE TOPIC OF A LECTURE BY ARTIST BEN KATCHOR AT BARD COLLEGE ON SEPTEMBER 25
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-The Jewish Studies Program at Bard College presents a lecture and slide presentation by artist Ben Katchor on the subject, "Halftone Printing in the Yiddish Press and Other Objects of Idol Worship." The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25, in Room 102 of the F. W. Olin Humanities Building.
Artist Ben Katchor will examine the use of photographic reproduction in a variety of 20th-century Yiddish books and newspapers. Katchor explains that he will explore "how Jewish proscriptions against the establishment of idolatrous images have influenced, and been influenced by, modern printing technology." Katchor will ask questions such as, "Are the photographic images one finds in the Yiddish press of an intentionally poor quality, or have they been degraded by accident?"
Katchor, a nationally syndicated cartoonist, has done three weekly comic strips Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer; The Cardboard Valise; and Hotel & Farm. His current weekly strip, Hotel & Farm, appears in the Forward and other newspapers throughout the United States. Katchor's work also appears in Metropolis, the New Yorker, and other magazines. Last fall, his illustrations, graphic novels, set designs, and drawings were included in the exhibition Ben Katchor: Picture-Stories at the Jewish Museum.
Katchor is a recipient of fellowships from The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In spring 2002, Katchor was also named the Guna S. Mundheim Fellow in Visual Arts at the American Academy in Berlin. He is currently collaborating with musician Mark Mulcahy on a work for music-theater. Katchor is the author of the best-selling graphic novel, The Jew of New York; as well as Cheap Novelties: The Pleasures of Urban Decay, with Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer; Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: Stories; and Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer: The Beauty Supply District.
This program has been supported by a grant from the Y'DIYAH Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. For further information, call Rona Sheramy, director of the Jewish Studies Program, at 845-758-7090 or e-mail [email protected].
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(9.03.02)