Category: art school

what art school teaches

Posted on Posted in art school, minimum daily requirement

before the Internet how did you know anything .how did you know anyone 

studio arts, the plastic arts, teach material use skill by direct studio interaction along with the awareness of other artists, artists of other times and media. at a graduate level preparation for inclusion in the art world is stressed. your dictionary increases beyond craft; beyond the grammar of sales counter — what to buy.

association with others at various skills and idea-experiences. you will be introduced. it is up to you to use the introduction.

From those who did:

Philip Perkis (November 12, 1935 – November 21, 2025

— https://koyotamaki.photo/2026/05/03/philip-perkis-1935-2025/

— https://www.nickfreemanphoto.com/post/philip-perkis-click-remembering-my-mentor

Be aware: The people who couldn’t open the door in their time are not showing you the way to open the door in your time. they couldn’t make it when the field was growing how do you expect them to guide you in this dying field. they couldn’t plant they couldn’t harvest they sat on the sidelines until in this present age they’re able to sell you their experience at a discount of free.

what photo-enthusiast forums teach:

MFA QUESTION– i’ve seen a variation on this at least three times in the past decade. twice on Forum A  and once on Forum B: ‘i’m considering getting an MFA in photography. I would like to hear from those of you who have your MFA. Was it  worth it?

 The poster wants targeted advice from those experienced in the past they are considering taking . They want to speak to people who have an MFA about that experience; as well, whether it’s satisfied their goals. In short, whether it’s been useful to them.

at forum A The two people who asked no longer participate. they were told that it wasn’t worth it academia is a scam.  all you learn is that Art speak. how to fake it. Of those two, one got their MFA and came back to brag about how much money they’re making teaching at a private boys school. The other person continued in their career as a filmmaker..

Recently at forum B The same question appeared. With that appearance as a trigger , I have written a series of posts about the MFA ,my experience and  The general occasion of asking for advice from people who don’t heed your request, yet feel compelled to express their ardent opinion that their life ,and likely yours ,would be better off not being around MFA people; those ‘artistes’ …

hobbiests fill holes .. mostly with excess money

kwik-print was

Posted on Posted in alt photo, art school, artgame, the Lab, visual mindTagged , , 1 Comment

Kwik-Print is another process you can’t do — the materials are not available. Unlike dye-imbibition, there aren’t enough records to devise the same product. The general procedures can certainly be re-issued. It was a simplified gum-pigment process, even though it was not gum arabic based. KP was an assembly process used by commercial printers as a proofing system. As such it found ready home for use within schools teaching any of the assembly processes.

NB: if you would like me to post a page2 with directions, push the like. With enough interest shown, it will happen

It was part of the Peak Know-How of 1978. Kwi-Print providing early access to color making for those who can’t draw and otherwise avoid painting. Kwik-Print was an assembly process; in that regard it was similar to dye-transfer, as were several hundred color making processes in the earliest years of photography-mechanical processes. Reviewers likened it to the Fresson Quadirchromie process — not so, since Kwik-Print wasn’t based upon pigments — likely they were inksets. No patent was ever filed for the process in any of its trademarked forms; neither by Direct Reproductions, nor Light Impressions.

The process was not patented. The product trademarks were the only protection for Direct Reproduction Corps. small business.


kwik proof by Samuel Sacks 1941

A telltale aspect of the kwi-Print was the synthetic “paper” support used. It was easier than similar processes such as gum-arabic, since the emulsion came ready to use; no grinding, no mixing. Synthetic wipes were used to apply coating to the synthetic paper which dried quickly without shrinkage. A multicolor print could be completed in minutes rather than hours as with gum prints.

Contrast of sheets: the receiver sheets affected contrast of the image; they were offered in three distinct grades of contrast. These sheets had code-notches to mark them, however, since the contrast change was due to the surface sheen/ diffusion (see callier) examining the sheet by raked light told which was high or low contrast — how shiny did it seem; how smooth did it feel.

So, why read about it? Sometimes the past reveals a future. Procedures change, shift, die — theory never dies, it transforms.

a short time on photography’s craft stage. it was part of the alternative life phase of Rochester’s boom years. Taking part in the silver-rush seventies by adding color without Kodak and friends.

How processes take hold; what it took for Kwik-Print.

  • It must be simple enough to learn within a short time such as a workshop
  • It is stronger if introduced in a time of growth among the arts community — the 70s was the explosion of photography into art schools.
  • It needs an advocate able to say, do and show what and how the process fits into that time
  • It helps if there is a strong commercial need of the process. Kwik-Proof was re-badged from the commercial printing trade where it was used for several decades. At the time of its conversion to the fine-art, solo studio practitioner, it was falling from use.

Before Post-Factory was alt=photography. Before that was non-silver imaging.

Bea Nettles was the proponent of the Kwik-Print stage of pigment printing. It was sold as kit and as individual items. Kwik-Print was a modification of the Kwik-Proof graphic arts product originated and sold by Direct Reproductions Corporation, Brooklyn,N.Y. The colorants used were not designed for permanence under display conditions. Keep em covered.

Light Impressions, 131 Gould Street, Rochester, NY was the large scale supplier to the fine-art photographers, ie, those educated in the art schools that seemed endless during the growth of gallery photography.

Some of the who:

bea nettles (b.1946 -) — a key advocate. She brought the Direct Reproduction Corporation product to the handmade emulsion community via Light Impressions.

watercote: The American Photo Engraver, Volume 49, 1957

the graphic trademarks for Direct Reproduction Corporation.

The trademarks for Kwik-Proof, along with the unfinished application for Kwik-Print.

Knowing where to look comes before finding.

Interested about the past? A common first thought is ask the web. As part of a continuing task of checking cultural progress, I asked 4 published bots. My request and the response follow:

AI thinks “emulsion” means silk-screen. Becoming over-confident about its comprehension of “light impressions.” the best answer among the current crust of AI engines. [12,25] Yet another false start. Confident, but wrong. Not even close to accurate.

The internet past is restricted to the 21st century. The printed page was not digitized. Try asking a librarian for the information. Librarians at large research libraries have extensive resources.

My first searches are to my bookshelves, then to online known reference sites.

Never ask a passing bot; never ask a hobby spot, even if this is “just” a hobby.