Jack of All Trades Leonard Baskin

Copyright for this image is held by the Estate of Leonard Baskin

I was asked by my Paper Making and Book Structure professor to research the work of Leonard Baskin: Printmaker, Sculptor, Designer, Bookmaker, and all around BAMF. I have found his creative path through life to be similar to my own thusfar, we share both a passion for design and a love of true craftsmanship and the object as a form of Art.

“Widely recognized as a major figure in twentieth-century American art, Leonard Baskin embodied the essence of the artifex (Latin for “creator”) in blending the roles of master craftsman, artisan, and artist. His sculptures, prints, books, and drawings can be found in the collections of nearly every major research library and art museum. Among his many commissions were a thirty-foot long bas-relief for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., and a Holocaust Memorial statue, erected on the site of the first Jewish cemetery in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although he is best known as a sculptor, Baskin had a lifelong passion for collecting, illustrating, designing, and printing books. His favorite subjects included notable figures from the history of art and bookmaking, natural history, the Bible, and mythology.” – Artifex

He studied at Yale, where he fell in love with letterpress. I have not yet had the opportunity to take letterpress, but I imagine I am going to grow quickly addicted to the process and quality result. Letterpress is like the strange offspring of most of my favorite things: wood, typography, design, huge man-powered machinery… it’s got everything!

Image Courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LB-FDR-Memorial-2.jpg

Gehenna Press was founded by Baskin and takes it’s name from a line from Paradise Lost. The press favored classic typefaces, specifically those of Nicholas Jenson, in their field-leading layouts and prints.

I admire Baskin for pursuing whatever it was that interested him at the time, and I hope I can find the courage and fortune to follow in his footsteps in my creative endeavors.