A short history of the Elam Fine Arts Printing Research Unit

In 1986 John B. Turner and Robin Lush made an application the Auckland University Grants Committee for a single colour offset press to supplement and update an old letterpress machine used by Elam School of Fine Arts. This application was successful and in 1988 the Elam Fine Arts Printing Research Unit became operational with Turner as its director and Lush as its printing manager. The unit was overseen by a committee comprised of: B. de Thier, E. Eastmond, J. Fairclough, G. Intra, G. Keefe, R. Lush, H. Macdonald, Prof. R. Riddell (Chairperson), Prof. J.D. Saunders, C. Shepheard, J.B. Turner and R. Wolfe. The unit had backing from top suppliers of paper and consumables, and industry leaders in the field of electronic scanning, page makeup, and platemaking.

The EFAPRU was visionary in its aims, based in culture rather than commerce - positioning itself as a “centre of excellence for innovative printing and publishing” distinct from, but complementing, other university-affiliated printing and publishing bodies. The unit was a laboratory for fine printing, research, teaching, publishing, and the promotion of fine arts. It generated collaborative projects with other university departments; and it also established ties with the printing trade, New Zealand's fourth largest industry. Its overarching purpose, as outlined by Turner in the Management and Business Plan for the EFAPRU, was to advance creative research as a contribution to New Zealand art education. The roles of the unit were stated as:
1. To promote research in the use of high quality offset and letterpress printing as a means of communication and artistic expression.
2. To celebrate and promote exemplary art and design from Elam students and staff, past and present, through a variety of publications, aiming, above all, to honour the integrity of the art works through the production of fine printing and binding.
3. To generally promote the furtherance (sic) of art and design education in Aotearoa/New Zealand by making available the expertise and resources of the School of Fine Arts, the University of Auckland, visiting artists and craftspersons.
4. To encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration with artists generally promote a high level of debate between art practitioners, historians, theorists, students, and the general public, on art matters.

The EFAPRU made high-quality short runs of work (including catalogues, posters and books) mainly by staff and students at Elam School of Fine Arts. In promoting this work on a cost-recovery basis the unit was able to place art in the public domain that would not normally be seen – for example work by emerging artists, experimental work, research-based work and other non-commercial artefacts. This gave a profile to ‘new’ creative projects and at the same time contributed to the development of an expanded, informed audience.

The unit also provided an important educational role within the School of Fine Arts. It offered workshops, seminars and lectures on print production, publishing and marketing to students at various levels.2 Meanwhile, there was an informal teaching and learning quotient in assisting students and staff with specific projects. Through the unit it was also possible to integrate the teaching of offset printing, platemaking, bookbinding, paper manufacture and other related aspects of print production – in relation to typography, design, photography, expressive printmaking, computer graphics and page makeup. Furthermore, artists and teachers were attracted by the unit from overseas to work on special printing and/or publishing projects at the Unit - on the basis of them reciprocating by giving lectures, seminars or workshops.3

Having established a modus-operandi, the EFAPRU set its sights on a future role. This it saw being fulfilled with the continuation of the cross-disciplinary work it was already doing within fine arts at the university along with several other initiatives bound up in different motivations including:

- Supplying secondary and tertiary education institutes with short run reproductions of contemporary and historical New Zealand art works, limited edition artist's books, catalogues, monographs, handbooks, calendars and portfolios about local art and artists;
- collaborating with public art galleries and museums, the private gallery sector, and corporate collectors on special projects;
- the publication of the ‘best of’ research papers and essays generated by staff and students at Elam;
- the production of ‘unusual value-added’ graphic design products such as calendars, greetings cards, wrapping papers, cinderella stamps and other niche stationery items;
- the production of ‘keepsakes’ for commemoration of special university occasions;
- a research and development role to the printing industry;
- hands-on industry experience for emerging artists;
- providing an interface for collaborations with other departments, such as Architecture, Art History, English and Maori Studies.

In the business plan for the EFAPRU, Turner summed up its potential as: …“the work of the Printing Research Unit is synonymous with the promotion of both the Elam School of Fine Arts and art education generally. From a public relations viewpoint, the Unit's work helps our School to better compete for students, staff, and resources, while helping to improve the eventual employment and success of our graduates in society”.

However, the EFAPRU was disestablished in 1994 for ‘financial reasons’, although the annual report for the previous year showed it was not losing money; and included detailed plans for expansion and a profile of its potential market, which incorporated libraries, schools, art-dealers, art galleries and museums, corporates, universities, the printing industry, and the general public.






2 . Examples include the `Offset 1988' project; four Cinderella stamp projects; a business card design project (1991), and a concertina book project (1992).
3 . The first reciprocal collaboration of this kind was with New Zealand artists Mary-Louise Browne and Ruth Watson, on the Vulgate Project in 1992, when Watson gave a "free" lecture at the School.