Artists Trading Cards Adorn a Wall at One Blue Wall Gallery
Nope, you didn’t read the title incorrectly. There really is such a thing as Artist Trading Cards!
Theo Nelson of The Artist Trading Card Committee sent me an e-mail to let me know about this quasi-new media as well as their up-coming art card trading session. I say quasi-new because after doing a little bit of research on the subject, I found out that Artist Trading Cards or ATCs were originally the idea of M. Vanci Stirnemann in 1996 in Zurich, Switzerland. The original concept was to trade the ATCs in one on one trading sessions with other artists. Since then, clubs and large trading sessions and workshops have become the new norm in trading art cards.
So what’s an art card? Well, that’s part of the allure of ATCs – they can be anything you like. The general norm is to have pieces of art that measure 2.5″ by 3.5″ and fit into plastic card sleeve holders. Other than that, there are no restrictions. Paint, pen, stamps, collages, the main focus is on having each card be an original.
Artist Trading Cards in Plastic Card Sleeves
One big proponent of Artist Trading Cards was Michael Leavitt whose hand-painted small portraits of artists in 2001 mimicked the style and format of traditional baseball cards. Designed specifically to be appreciated as originals, Leavitt even exhibited his Art Cards.
Art cards aren’t just picking up steam in Calgary. They’re also a growing trend in Edmonton and around the world. From a recent article in the Edmonton Journal, Jeff Kulak, Latitude 53 Artist Trading Cards session coordinator enjoys the creative freedom art cards allows him and thinks they’re a great way for beginners to start creating art:
I like artist trading cards because there are no pressures associated with them… I have the freedom to experiment when I make some cards because I’m not worrying about wasting tons of supplies. Artist Trading cards are also good for my friends who are interested in art, but don’t make art themselves. It’s a good entry point into making art.
I think Jeff’s right on point about art cards being a perfect, non-intimidating, way to get into art. I will definitely try my hand at a couple and post them here. In fact, our next post might just have to be a public art card submission. If anyone would like to get a head start or even to show off some of the neat cards they got in the trading session (details below), you can e-mail us at contact@calgaryartblog.com. [A bit spur of the moment, but the idea of having a dedicated gallery page for art cards is really exciting!]
Event Details
The Artist Trading Committee is holding their monthly Artist Trading Card trading session this weekend [that's a lot of trading!]. Whether you have art cards, want to create art cards, or just want to check out some great local art, you should definitely attend this event that is sure to be a unique experience.
Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009
Time: 5 pm to 7 pm
Location: The New Gallery at Eau Claire Market
Address: 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue SW, Calgary
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
wow, this all seems interesting and an opportunity for learning more ideas!, well am from Tanzania and such a concept is relatively new to our art scene, never heard of it before. But this surely is an interesting phenomenon in art.
Trading card sessions is a very brilliant idea too, well the best of luck Artist Trading Committee your ideas are visionary!