From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 06/23/01-02:05:26 AM Z
On Fri, 22 Jun 2001, Callie Type wrote:
> The Bostick and Sullivan Forum Moderator I am talking about is Stephen
> Livick, who mentioned publically that after Judy did not respond to
> criticisms (regarding advice she published on gum printing) he had made,
> decided all future issues of the Post Factory Journal would go unwrapped
> "into his trash can where they belong".
Oh shucks, I would have paid the postage to have them returned. I've run
out of issues #1 & 2 & very expensive to reprint (tho I will, I am).
However, here's another reality check: Did anybody on this list ever
*ever* EVER see me not responding to criticisms, questions, issues, ideas,
challenges, facts, or even just plain curiosity about gum printing?????
In fact, I respond to a fault.
So that statement, as far as I can tell or am aware, is pure invention.
When, where and how Livick is supposed to have made those "criticisms," I
can't imagine. Why, or how the issue arose in his forum, I have no clue
either. As far as I know, he never made any criticisms about anything I
ever said about gum printing -- I would have been delighted/ thrilled if
he had. (Until I saw his manual, I considered him the great god of gum.)
Perhaps someone in the forum quoted me, or asked about something I've said
on this list or in Post-Factory, or in some way suggested me as competing
"authority." I mean it's hard to believe he volunteered that cold turkey
-- though the whole thing is so bizarre, who knows?
> this behavior seemed a bit churlish, the "archives" were altered, removing
Yes, churlish is the right word, especially given the actual history. I'd
been a great admirer of Livick's gum prints, in fact in the early days of
this list I declared him one of the greatest living gum printers, if not
the greatest. I'd had his address from a Canadian curator, and when I sent
out the first Post-Factory, April '98, mailed one to him. Practically by
return mail, I got a subscription check AND a great pack of his catalogs,
prints, samples of actual sections of prints, and general resume info. I
was so thrilled, I phoned Canada. I may have spoken only to his wife (this
I don't recall), but I said I would surely put him in Post-Factory. And so
I had planned.
As it turned out however, an avalanche of early content delayed the gum
issue til now, and then there was such a (marvelous) backlog of material,
it had to be 2 issues. By the time I re-established contact with Livick it
made most sense to schedule him for Issue #7. We exchanged what I thought
were a number of cordial emails, and I apologized for not having visited
his new website. (As some perhaps know, one of my several failings is
trouble with websites.)
I also bought both his book and his video, total maybe $57 including
postage. I figured I'd learn a lot, and it would be important for the
article. Alas, I found his book on gum printing a grave disappointment --
to put it mildly. Firstly, there were several statements that I knew for
a fact (from my own tests) were not true. Then I found the information
given totally inadequate. For instance, I don't think a supposed manual
that says only "I use the gum from Photographers Formulary or Bostick &
Sullivan" is doing right by the reader. What gum is that? Then, though he
told the exact number of seconds for each soak of a coat, he never
mentioned exactly what the mix was -- how much of which color to how much
gum and sensitizer. Or even (as I recall) a given exposure.
The book ($29) had very few pages (from memory, I'd say 46) of which about
every 5th or 6th page was blank, with something like "Gum Dichromate
Notes" printed across the top, tho the paper was so glossy the only way to
write on it would be with ink. The margins were wide, and type large, with
double spacing. Which is to say, very little actual text -- right or
wrong.
Then, he mentioned various operations with rather skimpy description and
NO ILLUSTRATION OR DIAGRAM. In fact the only illustration in the entire
book was the cover with a print of his on it (and maybe some of his prints
at the end, I forget now). This from memory after maybe 10 months; if I
locate the book, I'm bound to find more. In sum, however great Livick's
actual prints, this was the worst gum manual I'd ever seen. But do not
imagine his calumny on the forum stems from my response to the book. I
said nothing.
Meanwhile, how could I handle this? It's my great pleasure to (sincerely)
swoon over the work I publish. Could I show his work and just omit the
manual? I guess I could, but the prospect made me uneasy (rightly as it
turned out). I've thought maybe there's more in the disk, which probably
runs on Quicktime or like that. I haven't seen it, at least not yet. There
just aren't enough hours in the day, in case anybody reading this doesn't
know.
Now I shall simply gather up the entire pack of material, which has
occupied a chair at my dining table-computer office these 3 years, and
send it back. Problem solved.
However, the business about throwing out all subsequent issues is also
bizarre -- there were articles about all sorts of things by all sorts of
people. Even folks who aren't photographers get interested.
best,
Judy
> all traces of his remarks, as well as the supportive remarks added by
> members of the forum. Thank heavens Livick and his brand of hypocrisy has
> finally been chased away from Sullivan's group!
>
> I'm happy for you that you can forgive Dick's indiscretions. Many of us
> can't. I sincerely wish he could be the rational individual you think he
> is. I, for one, would like to be his customer again.
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