[336] MTSU ‘Hatch Show Print’ retrospective features 2 alumni and their professor

MURFREESBORO — MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery is showcasing one of the most iconic advertising formats in the music industry with its new exhibit, “Hatch Show Print: A Retrospective,” open now through March 10.

Set for Rooms 224 and 224A inside Todd Hall in the center of campus, the exhibit also celebrates the career of longtime MTSU art professor emeritus Christie Nuell through both her art and two of her printing students.

A searchable, printable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors attending the event should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU’s Office of Parking and Transportation at http://www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

The exhibit features work by Nuell and:

• Hatch master printer Jim Sherraden (Class of 1983), one of Nuell’s first students at MTSU.
• Celene Aubry, Hatch manager.
• Heather Moulder (Class of 2011), Hatch artist and a student during Nuell’s final teaching semester.

Sherraden also plans a special print workshop Friday, Feb. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Todd Hall Room 350. The workshop is limited to 18 participants; those interested should email kathleen.oconnell@mtsu.edu for more information.

Brothers C.R. and H.H. Hatch founded their printing firm in 1879 in Nashville, producing their first handbill to advertise an appearance of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, a circuit-riding revival preacher and brother of famed abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

Hatch posters soon advertised everything from sporting events to circuses and operas, cementing its music-industry reputation by making use of its location behind the Ryman Auditorium from 1925 to 1992 and its long relationship with the “Grand Ole Opry” radio program. To attract more business, the Hatches often claimed, “Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms.”

The company produces 500 to 600 letterpress posters each year with the same Hatch brothers’ techniques, using hand-carved blocks laid out in reverse on plates, inked and run through antique letterpress machines by hand.

Its Haley Gallery showcases Sherraden’s work as master printer for the company, displaying his monoprints — contemporary interpretations and celebrations of Hatch Show Print’s classic wood blocks — and conducting visitor tours and workshops.

Nuell, an internationally recognized artist who was raised near Vatican City and now lives on the Isle of Man, taught printmaking and design for 31 years at MTSU. She retired in 2012 and has continued exhibiting her works, including an acclaimed 2013 exhibit at The Arts Company in Nashville.

“Hatch Show Print: A Retrospective” will be on display during the Todd Gallery’s regular hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gallery is closed on weekends and state and university holidays.

For more information about Hatch Show Print, visit its website, http://www.hatchshowprint.com. For more on Nuell and her work, visit http://www.christienuell.com.

For more information about the Todd Art Gallery, including parking and directions, contact gallery director Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653 or eric.snyder@mtsu.edu or visit http://www.mtsu.edu/art.