Edwin Schlossberg (American, born 1945)
preface by Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925-2008)
letterpress hand-set and hand-printed by Christopher Pullman
published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)
Colophon page, from Wordswordswords
INV-1070
Edwin Schlossberg (American, born 1945)
preface by Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925-2008)
letterpress hand-set and hand-printed by Christopher Pullman
published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955)1967–68
Colophon page, from Wordswordswords
Edwin Schlossberg (American, born 1945) preface by Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925-2008) letterpress hand-set and hand-printed by Christopher Pullman published by Universal Limited Art Editions (American, founded 1955) →letterpressprint
Date
1967–68
Medium
Letterpress in black on white wove paper, folded
Dimensions
Unfolded sheet: 28 × 43.2 cm (11 1/16 × 17 1/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
U.L.A.E. Collection acquired through a challenge grant of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dittmer; purchased with funds provided by supporters of the Department of Prints and Drawings; Centennial Endowment; Margaret Fisher Endowment Fund
Characterized as an author, painter, poet, philosopher, gamesman, scientist, inventor, and teacher, Edwin Schlossberg saw his life’s work as getting people to think for themselves. In Wordswordswords, he deliberately ignored some of the basic rules of printing in order to make reading a physical act. Wordswordswords is a virtual “what not to do” in printmaking: misalignment, misspelling, reversals, accidental masking, creased paper, blind embossing, and fragmented letters. Of this piece Schlossberg said, “I hope they see the words, and then I hope they see themselves.”