Claire Van Vliet
Encyclopedia
Claire Van Vliet was born in Ottawa, Canada
in 1933. She is a fine art
ist, illustrator and typographer
who founded Janus Press in San Diego, California
in 1955. Van Vliet received the Bachelor of Arts in 1952 from San Diego State College, and the Master of Fine Arts
from Claremont Graduate School in 1954. In 1955 she moved to Europe, shortly after her first publications, then returned to the United States in 1957. She worked for John Anderson of Lanston Monotype Company
in Philadelphia before moving to Madison, Wisconsin
. She made several trips back to Europe and continued her education in hand typesetting and compositing. She taught drawing and printmaking classes at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art and Philadelphia Museum College of Art from 1965-1966. In 1967 she established a typographic workshop in Madison, Wisconsin. The Janus Press has been based in Newark, Vermont
since Van Vliet settled there in 1966.
) for the rising and setting sun, stood for balance in the Renaissance because of his ability to look both forward and backward…the book as a balanced and unified statement with all of its parts integral and serving to illuminate one another, is the ideal for which the press seeks.”
The press publishes collaborative works by contemporary writers, papermakers, printmakers and artists. The following is a list of some authors/creators: (authors) Ray Carver, Tess Gallagher
, Seamus Heaney
, Ted Hughes
, W. R. Johnson, Galway Kinnell
, John le Carré
, Denise Levertov
, Sandra McPherson
, W. D. Snodgrass; (artists) Ruth Fine, Lois K. Johnson, Susan Johanknecht, Jerome Kaplan, Ray Metzker
, Peter Schumann
, Helen Siegel; (papermakers) Kathryn Clark (Twinrocker), Amanda Degener, Mary Lyn Nutting, Katie MacGregor, Bernie Vinzani
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
in 1933. She is a fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
ist, illustrator and typographer
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
who founded Janus Press in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 1955. Van Vliet received the Bachelor of Arts in 1952 from San Diego State College, and the Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
from Claremont Graduate School in 1954. In 1955 she moved to Europe, shortly after her first publications, then returned to the United States in 1957. She worked for John Anderson of Lanston Monotype Company
Lanston Monotype Company
Lanston Monotype Company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the end of the nineteenth century by Tolbert Lanston. In 1887 he received his first patent for a mechanical typesetting device. The current incarnation as the "Lanston Type Co." is a division of P22 type foundry....
in Philadelphia before moving to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. She made several trips back to Europe and continued her education in hand typesetting and compositing. She taught drawing and printmaking classes at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art and Philadelphia Museum College of Art from 1965-1966. In 1967 she established a typographic workshop in Madison, Wisconsin. The Janus Press has been based in Newark, Vermont
Newark, Vermont
Newark is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 470 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.2 square miles , of which 36.8 square miles is land and 0.4 square mile is...
since Van Vliet settled there in 1966.
Janus Press
The Janus Press was named by Van Vliet for "the ancient Roman god (JanusJanus
-General:*Janus , the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings*Janus , a moon of Saturn*Janus Patera, a shallow volcanic crater on Io, a moon of Jupiter...
) for the rising and setting sun, stood for balance in the Renaissance because of his ability to look both forward and backward…the book as a balanced and unified statement with all of its parts integral and serving to illuminate one another, is the ideal for which the press seeks.”
The press publishes collaborative works by contemporary writers, papermakers, printmakers and artists. The following is a list of some authors/creators: (authors) Ray Carver, Tess Gallagher
Tess Gallagher
Tess Gallagher is an American poet, essayist, author and playwright. She attended the University of Washington, where she studied creative writing with Theodore Roethke and later Nelson Bentley as well as David Wagoner and Mark Strand...
, Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
, Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
, W. R. Johnson, Galway Kinnell
Galway Kinnell
Galway Kinnell is an American poet. He was Poet Laureate of Vermont from 1989 to 1993. An admitted follower of Walt Whitman, Kinnell rejects the idea of seeking fulfillment by escaping into the imaginary world. His best-loved and most anthologized poems are "St...
, John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
, Denise Levertov
Denise Levertov
-Early life and influences:Levertov was born and grew up in Ilford, Essex.Couzyn, Jeni Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe, p74 Her mother, Beatrice Spooner-Jones Levertoff, came from a small mining village in North Wales...
, Sandra McPherson
Sandra McPherson
Sandra McPherson is an American poet.Born in San Jose, California, McPherson received her B.A. at San Jose State University, and studied at the University of Washington, with Elizabeth Bishop and David Wagoner....
, W. D. Snodgrass; (artists) Ruth Fine, Lois K. Johnson, Susan Johanknecht, Jerome Kaplan, Ray Metzker
Ray Metzker
Ray K. Metzker is an American photographer known for both his work in cityscape and landscape photography.His work has been collected by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and many others.He is...
, Peter Schumann
Peter Schumann
Peter Schumann is the founder and director of the Bread & Puppet Theater. Born in Silesia, he was a sculptor and dancer in Germany before moving to the United States in 1961. In 1963 he founded Bread & Puppet in New York City, and in 1970 moved to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, eventually...
, Helen Siegel; (papermakers) Kathryn Clark (Twinrocker), Amanda Degener, Mary Lyn Nutting, Katie MacGregor, Bernie Vinzani
Honors
- 1989-John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship
- 1993-Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, University of Arts in Philadelphia
- 1995-Elected to the National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
in New York - 2002-Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
Further reading
- Claire Van Vliet. (1978?) Printmaker and Printer : a selection of prints and illustrated books from the Press at the Rutgers University Art Gallery in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from November 5 to December 17, 1978. [New Brunswick, N.J.] : Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
Art Gallery,
- The Janus Press . (1982) 1955-1980 : Silver Anniversary Miscellany: [finally all gathered together in 1982]. [West Burke, Vt.] : Janus Press
- Van Vliet, Claire. (2002). Woven and interlocking book structures : from the Janus, Steiner, and Gefn presses / Newark, Vt. : Janus Gefn Unlimited.
- Bright, Betty. (2005). “The Fine Press Book: The Janus Press: a new demeanor for fine printing.” No longer innocent : book art in America : 1960-1980 / New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: Granary Books : Distributed to the trade by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers.