Syzygy :: Materia Prima (Nimbash phase)

Syzygy :: Materia Prima (2021) was commissioned by Nimbus Arts and printed by an asphalt roller at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena, CA for Nimbus Arts during Nimbash 2021 in September 2021.

Syzygy :: Materia Prima is an 8 ft. x 3 ft. multi-color linocut consisting of two 8 ft. x 3 ft. sheets of carved linoleum printed in oil-based relief inks on 300 GSM BFK Rives 100% cotton paper.

Designed by C.K.Itamura based on a drawing of Greek alchemical equipment (c. 100 - 300 AD) and Alexandrian chemical apparatus Mss. 2325 and 2327 in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, published by the French chemist M. Berthelot in his Introduction a l'etude de Ia chimie des anciens et du moyen age, Paris, 1889 and selected sigils found in Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils, written by Fred Gettings in 1981.

All preparations — drawing, image transfer, linocutting, hand-proof printing, prepping paper - were made during C.K.Itamura’s Guesthouse Residency at The Imaginists in Santa Rosa, CA, July thru September 2021. Additional partial proof printing was done on a Takach press at In Cahoots Residency in Petaluma, CA in August 2021.

Artist’s Notes

Nimbus Art’s Co-founder and Executive Director, Jaime Graff, at the reference of Chad Johnson, Studio Director of San Francisco Center for the Book, commissioned me to create a large-scale linocut for and produce the street printing element of Nimbash 2021. The theme for Nimbash this year was Alchemy and early on in the research phase to find appropriate alchemical sigils for this project I came upon the word “syzygy”, the definition of which I allowed to drive the direction of this project.

syzygy • \SIZ-uh-jee\ • noun. : the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system. Examples: The full moon and new moon phenomena occur when the earth, sun, and moon are in syzygy. — Merriam-Webster Dictionary

With syzygy placed in the drivers seat, I was determined to bring into alignment with this project’s gravitational system as many celestial bodies (read: people and art organizations) as safely as possible, particularly as the situation in my immediate geographic area seemed to be slowly transitioning from a pandemic one in to an endemic one.

Amy Pinto and Brent Lindsay, Co-founders and Artistic Directors of The Imaginists welcomed me with the gift of a Guesthouse Residency, which included use of a significantly larger space than my own private studio for the month-and-a-half duration of this project. The cavernous space at The Imaginists made the production of two 8 ft. x 3 ft. linocuts as well as the associated set-up and proof printing possible. The space, complete with an industrial sized overhead roll-up door and an upgraded HVAC system further provided a suitable environment for small crew-pods to work on image transfer, linocutting, proof printing and paper prep with me in the studio. Rik Olson, my longtime steamroller printing collaborator, agreed to be my brainstorming partner to hone in logistics and checklists for this event, and to bring one of his elaborate linocuts to print at Nimbash. Additional funding from R.C.Wong sustained the Guesthouse crew with a rotating supply of pies. (NOTE: In this case the pies were essential “art-making supplies”.) and Macy Chadwick, Founder and Director of In Cahoots Residency found time in her schedule for me to print a partial proof print on the Takach press. The day before Nimbash the newly assembled printing crew helped to prepare the Nimbash printing zone at Charles Krug Winery and received a crash course in asphalt roller inking, paper-handling and printing, participated in a dress rehearsal, and by the end of the evening were ready for event day.

With the support of Nimbus Arts, The Imaginists Guesthouse Residency, In Cahoots Residency, the Guesthouse Residency Phase Crew, the Nimbash Phase Crew, the Support Crews and those who provided rags, telephone books, paper, photography, logistics support, transportation and funding support, Syzygy :: Materia Prima was made possible. Special thanks to Nimbash liaison Grace Waring for sourcing materials, recruiting print crew volunteers, and on-site event support.

In the case of this project Syzygy :: Materia Prima, the Materia Prima — the formless primeval substance regarded as the original material of the universe - is the connection between people.

— C.K.Itamura

Guesthouse Residency Phase Crew (Image Transfer, Linocutting, Proof Printing, Prepping Paper)

Find photos of the Guesthouse Residency Crew and preparations for Syzygy :: Materia Prima here.

Nimbash Phase Crew (Street Printing)

Grace Waring, Mae Vader, Alan Dennett, Kelly Tanita, Christine Austin, Serena Hazard, Vicky Kumpfer, Conrad Praetzel, C.K.Itamura and Rik Olson

See more photos below.

Nimbash Phase Crew (Support)

Grace Waring, Serena Hazard, Vicky Kumpfer, Steve Jameson, Rik Olson, Conrad Praetzel

Thank You

Nimbus Arts, Jaime Graff, Grace Waring, The Imaginists, Amy Pinto & Brent Lindsay, InCahoots Residency, Macy Chadwick, San Francisco Center for the Book, Chad Johnson, Spring Maxfield, Aryn Sorlium, R.C.Wong, Brita Olson and Conrad Praetzel II