Impractical Specimens by Jessica Peterson




Clutch Gallery is pleased to present Impractical Specimens by Jessica Peterson.


While woes of the world increase in speed and complexity, those in Gordo, Alabama (33°19′17″N 87°54′13″W) endeavor to move as slow as possible while considering life, love, and typography with careful deliberation. Impractical Specimen offers a small souvenir of Gordo, Alabama’s lifestyle: a letterpress printed phrase, selected from a list of truisms used in and around Peterson’s print shop. These phrases were selected from her wide-ranging collection, compiled in the state of Alabama starting in 2006. Each phrase has been handset in a different metal typeface and then printed using a Vandercook SP-20, model number 22646. Impractical Specimens runs through July 9, 2010

Jessica Peterson is a book artist and letterpress printer, who is currently artist-in-residence in the town of Gordo, Alabama. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Purchase College, The University of Bridgeport and The University of Alabama, and has led workshops and lectured at Printmaking Council of New Jersey, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Center for Book Arts in New York. She graduated with an MFA in Book Arts from the University of Alabama in 2009 and her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999. Her artists’ books are included in academic and private library collections around the country. She invites all interested individuals to visit Gordo to experience the only true way to live.