Silent Auction Preview: Tim Fite's YNMQ

I came to admire Tim Fite after stumbling upon (and falling in love with) his avant garde hip-hop album Over the Counterculture, shortly after moving to Brooklyn in 2007. My roommate and I listened to it almost daily that summer and came to know every word, and we've been known to include select songs on epic road-trip mixes for each other and "thinking of you" voicemails. As an ardent fan, I knew he was also a visual artist, but it took me over a year of interning at CBA before I connected the dots and realized that the Tim Fite who worked tirelessly as a Printshop Steward, assisting other printers and making fabulous prints, was the very same dude.

His piece YNMQ, a 9"x9" letterpress print, is a gorgeous example of his cooly cluttered aesthetic. The Artist Members at the Center for Book arts makes up a motley family that spans ages and aesthetics and while Fite's work is definitely on the punkier end of the spectrum, his work is created with utmost respect for the craft and a deep understanding and respect for the press.

 

The print features an extra dose of whimsy: when folded up, it becomes the favorite tool of sleepover party-goers and amateur divinists alike: the Cootie Catcher! The winner actually gets two copies of the print: one to hang on to and one to fold. Of the later, Fite says: " It feels nice on your fingers and tells the future!"

 

More information on Tim Fite can be found at his website, and bidding for this print can be found at the auction site. Today's the last day, but you can bid online up until noon today! (Wednesday) After that, come and join us at the party!

-Fabulous Saturday volunteer Faith Hale is guest blogging about this week's auction for us. She's currently an apprentice at Paper Dragon in Brooklyn, and is about to take off to the West Coast to start her MFA degree at Mills College in the book arts program there. Thanks Faith!