Printmaking is a paradigmatic artmaking process with the potential of recording all stages of the creative process. For artists, it exists as a living media not as an obsolete manufacturing process. Mark/Remarque will examine traditional and digital print processes (marks), critical discourse important to the field (remarks), and consider the concepts associated with the historical print term remarque: rarity, testing, concept amplification, and boundary extension.

The conference is timed to coincide with Philagrafika 2010, an international festival of contemporary art focusing on artistic practices that engage the visual, intellectual, and creative frontiers in printmaking. Galleries and museums throughout Philadelphia will host print exhibitions. Of interest to all conference participants with be Philagraphika’s centerpiece exhibition: The Graphic Unconscious, which will present the pervasive role of the print in contemporary artistic production.