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Artist Paul Taylor Visits During Visual Arts Week
From Instructor of Photography Jeorge Yankura:
On April 20, artist, educator and business owner Paul Taylor was St. Luke’s Upper School Visiting Artist in Residence as part of the School’s annual Visual Arts Week.
Taylor, Founder and Director of Renaissance Press, is one of the world’s foremost experts and practitioners of the Nineteenth Century Photographic techniques of Photogravure, Wet Plate Collodion and Platinum and Palladium printing. He has traveled around the world to photograph images, work with artists, and exhibit his work.
Throughout the course of the day, Taylor spoke with students in art classes and at the Center for Leadership’s Lunch and Lead. He discussed his interest in learning the earliest forms of Photographic imaging when he was an undergraduate student, and how as a graduate student at Rhode Island School of Design, he founded the RISD Press (now known as RISD Prints). Upon graduation, Taylor continued his exploration and practice of rare photographic techniques by founding Renaissance Press. Taylor emphasized that creating his own business specializing in such rare methods of production was not the result of any sort of entrepreneurial desire, but rather, out of love for his work His success grew because he was devoted towards learning how to do something very rare and beautiful; due to this passion and artistry, artists flocked to Taylor in order to work with someone who was, quite simply, the best at what he does.
Taylor’s business, Renaissance Press, is a Fine Art Atelier that has worked with many artists over the years, and during his visit, he displayed artworks that his business has published over the years, including work by photographer Roy DeCarava (who worked with Langston Hughes on The Sweet Flypaper of Life), and early conceptualist artist William Anastasi. He discussed and showed an example of work created for later editing by Stamford native and MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant winner Lauren Redniss, featured in her book Thunder and Lightning: Weather Past, Present, Future (available in the Godfrey Library Collection.)
Students were curious about Taylor’s use of “old” techniques, versus “new” digital technology. Taylor shared that while he sometimes uses the computer in order to assist in the overall process of creating images, nothing created with only digital technology has the same warmth or gravitas as a hand-crafted work—which is often printed on rare papers from around the world. He also allowed students to inspect a large format camera (previously owned by photographer Alfred Stieglitz) in order to help them understand the pleasure of using old equipment made out of metal, leather and glass.
Students were fascinated by Taylor’s publishing work with Renaissance Press, as well as Taylor’s own personal work, much of which was created in remote areas of Turkey. Taylor discussed his working methods, including the use of compasses in order to determine the best time of the day for the sun to illuminate his subject matter, his employment of donkey carts to transport his materials, and his work photographing the tool marks left behind on cave walls in Cappadocia by monks from over a thousand years ago. Students responded to Taylor’s passion for creating beautiful works of Art either on his own or in conjunction with other artists through Renaissance Press.
Taylor was impressed by the high quality of student artwork at St. Luke’s, the Art Department’s curriculum, and the passion and interest of the students and hopes to visit again in the future.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
