The market for contemporary prints has tanked in the past couple years, but print dealers and workshops have never expected much by way of glamour and glitz. Theirs remains the friendliest and most optimistic sector of the art world. Proof lies in the 14th installment of Editions/Artists Book Fair (E/AB 11), open this weekend on the second and third floors of the ex-Dia space on 22nd Street in Chelsea (Friday and Saturday 11–7; Sunday 11–4).
The following are some highlights:
Daniel Heyman at Cade Tompkins (Providence)
Daniel Heyman has outdone himself with a giant (145 by 167-1/2-inch), 65-part etching, a cri de coeur against the Iraqi war. Among the many players are ziggurats and ancient sculptures, dismembered casualties and combatants' boots. Heyman's inspiration was twofold: the giant multipart Renaissance prints of "Grand Scale," a landmark exhibition organized by the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in 2009; and his own work recording first-person narratives, and making printed portraits, of Iraqis caught up in Abu Ghraib and other violent events. The title of his magnum opus, When Photographers Are Blinded, Eagles' Wings Are Clipped (2010), is a reference to a quote by a photojournalist covering the scene-represented by the image of a man shooting pictures while blindfolded. For centuries, prints have been central to the art of protest, and Heyman has harnessed that legacy most impressively.
