Three New Exhibitions at Asheville BookWorks / May 10 – July 7
Two Zine Exhibitions
During May and June, there will be two different Zine Exhibition in the BookWorks Gallery and over 25+ Hatch Show Prints on the perimeter walls of the letterpress studio. The first of two zine shows has been installed. Zines from the collections of Jessica White and Hollis Fouts will be up through Wednesday, May 25. On Wednesday May 18 at 6 PM, Hollis Fouts will do a gallery walkabout.
On Saturday, May 28, there will be a reception to open the second Zine Exhibit with an artist talk by Emily Larned at 6:30 PM. Emily’s talk, also the title of the show, “SPLITS, TRADES, REVIEWS, & DISTROS: ZINE CULTURE AS MODEL,” was recently 
presented at the College Book Arts Association in January. This show will be up through July 7, 2011.
Zines are independent publications that are primarily exchanged through trade or at a minimum cost. Historically zines were B & W cut and paste and have evolved to include all forms of printing and reproduction. Zine culture started hitting the main stream in the early 80’s with the availability of ready access to copiers.
Styles range from crayon drawings to B & W cut and paste, to screenprinted and letterpress examples. Many have inserts, attachments, interesting construction and all reflect a personal vision. Throughout, the message remains with the individual.
The art and excitement of collecting zines is sharing these underground communications. You either know the people who have made them or you are interested in the subject matter.
Hatch Show Prints
“Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms.”- The Hatch Brothers
Hatch Show Prints is an historically significant letterpress shop started in Nashville in 1879 by Charles and Herbert Hatch. Today it is part of the Country Music Hall of Fame under the direction of Jim Sherradan. Jim curated a selection of 25+ prints for Asheville BookWorks that will be on display May 10 – July 7.
Excerpts from the ‘Hatch Show Prints’ website:
“If you follow music, art, and culture of the American South, sooner or later you’re bound to run into the letters, images, and unmistakable “look” of Hatch Show Print. They’re one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in America, and over the years their posters have featured a host of country music performers, ranging from Country Music Hall of Framers Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, and Johnny Cash to contemporary stars such as Garth Brooks and Wynonna.”
“Just as eye-catching are the “bread and butter” posters, the small jobs for filling stations, laundries, grocery stores, and movie theaters. This openness to the sheer breadth of southern culture and advertising helped Hatch 
Show Print survive the comparatively lean years that followed the death of Will Hatch. While letterpress printmakers found it hard to compete in the more modern, faster age of offset printmaking, Hatch turned to country music and other “old faithfuls” for continued support, while embracing newer forms of entertainment such as all-star wrestling and rock & roll.”
“We’ve done it all without losing that irresistible appeal of turn-of-the-century Hatch posters, which were used to promote vaudeville, circus, and minstrel shows across the country. There’s a reason why music lovers, Americana buffs, graphic arts collectors and designers, and commercial advertisers of all persuasions continue to turn to Hatch for inspiration. We are, indeed, a tonic for the information age.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pniaea9CsBY video with Jim Sherradan in the Hatch 
letterpress shop, featuring the infamous Hatch Cats!
http://countrymusichalloffame.org/our-work/ main website for Hatch Show Prints
Public is Welcome. See you in the Studio! Laurie Corral
Paul Moxon is a studio letterpress printer and editor of the American Printing History Association Newsletter. He is an authority on the maintenance and history of Vandercook presses and is a visiting instructor at many public and academic studios nationwide, including the Center for Book Arts, Columbia College, University of Iowa, Penland School of Crafts and the University of Tampa. He prints for hire and publishes limited edition books and broadsides under the imprint Fameorshame Press. This work is included in several public and private collections.
