Stephanie S. E. Lee and Kathleen Bickford Berzock reflect on international exchange and the power of print

In May 2025, two Block Museum team members, Stephanie S. E. Lee and Kathleen Bickford Berzock, traveled to Seoul, South Korea, to participate in Afro-Eurasian Histories of Print, a traveling seminar organized by the Clark Art Institute’s Research and Academic Program. The seminar brought together an international group of scholars to explore the material, technological, and social histories of print across East Asia, the Islamic world, and Europe.

The program convened leading curators and academics from a range of geographic specializations, with the goal of rethinking Eurocentric narratives in print history and curatorial strategies. By addressing themes such as knowledge production, repetition, reproduction, and imprint, participants worked across traditional boundaries of geography and chronology to contribute to a more connected global history of print.

The weeklong program was hosted by the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Seoul National University, and co-led by Susan Dackerman (Independent Scholar) and Caroline Fowler (Clark Art Institute) with consultation from Jeongho Park (SNU). The week included visits to the National Museum of Korea, the Leeum Museum of Art, and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Haeinsa Temple. It concluded with a symposium that encouraged cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exchange.

Reframing the Horizon: Kathleen Bickford Berzock

For Kathleen Bickford Berzock, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs, the seminar extended her research into the trans-Saharan exchange networks explored in The Block Museum exhibition Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa (2019), which she curated. Her paper, Rethinking the Horizon: West Africa and the Histories of Block Prints, examined why block-printed amulets, produced across the Islamic Mediterranean between the 9th and 14th centuries, did not appear to take hold in Islamic West Africa, despite strong trade, religious, and manuscript traditions in the region.

“The factors for printed amulets to flourish were all present—Arabic literacy, paper circulation, trade routes, even stamping technologies,” Berzock said. “But in West Africa, we see instead a consistent emphasis on handwritten texts as spiritual objects, linked to Islamic pedagogy and the embodied act of writing.”

Her research traced connections from early Islamic manuscript culture to later innovations in block-printed textiles, such as adinkra and adire cloth. “This was a chance to test ideas that emerged from Caravans of Gold and take them further,” she reflected. “Being in dialogue with Asian and Islamic art specialists, as well as Korean students and scholars, allowed me to think across disciplines and regions in ways that were generative and rewarding.”

Embedded Histories: Stephanie S. E. Lee

Stephanie S. E. Lee, The Block’s 2024–25 Art History Graduate Fellow, presented research on reprographic technologies and statecraft in Korean print history. During a study visit to Seoul’s Kyujanggak Archives, she presented materials related to bureaucratic reproduction and document standardization during the Joseon Dynasty. She first viewed these materials during the COVID-19 pandemic with the support of the Art History department’s Shanley Grant, which helped lay the groundwork for her current research.

“What stood out to me was how deeply print technologies were embedded in Korean governance and the codification of regional identity,” Lee said. “From representing landscape and geopolitical boundaries via carved woodblocks, the tools of print shaped not just communication but authority itself.”

The opportunity to handle early Korean prints and view historic printing blocks informed Lee’s curatorial thinking and her work with The Block’s collection. “The trip helped me see how the histories of print are not just about technology. They are also about power, and resistance,” she said. “Who is making these works? Who gets to approve these visual narratives, their facture and distribution? These are themes that connect closely with what we explore at The Block.”

International Exchange and Professional Growth

Both Stephanie S. E. Lee and Kathleen Bickford Berzock emphasized how the seminar fostered not only scholarly insight but also professional development and a sense of global community.

For Stephanie, participation in the Clark traveling seminar came at a formative moment in her career. As the Block Museum’s 2024–25 Art History Graduate Fellow, the opportunity to share research alongside leading international scholars, to connect with Korean curators and students, and to explore new archives and collections was energizing. “The conversations I had throughout the week made me feel more connected to a global network of print scholars. It was encouraging to see how my work could contribute to broader conversations in the field.”

She also reflected on the importance of these kinds of programs for early-career scholars: “Being part of this seminar expanded my sense of what an art historian can do and the kinds of communities I want to be part of going forward.”

For Berzock, the experience reinforced The Block Museum’s commitment to international dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration. “At Northwestern, we value working across disciplines, but also across regions and worldviews. Being part of this seminar allowed me to be in conversation with colleagues whose methods, materials, and histories are different from mine, but whose goals of deep cultural inquiry are shared.”

She noted that such opportunities not only advance scholarship but help affirm The Block’s role as a space where global and interdisciplinary thinking thrives. “It was meaningful to bring insights from The Block into a setting like this, and to see how our work resonates with scholars and institutions far beyond our campus.”

Print as a Medium of Exchange

Throughout the week, both participants reflected on the ways print served as a model for cultural exchange. “Print is made for circulation,” Berzock observed. “So it becomes a fitting lens for understanding how ideas, beliefs, and aesthetics move between people and places.”

From carved sutras at Haeinsa to West African adinkra stamps, the experience underscored how print operates as both a physical tool and a conceptual connector, bridging different periods, geographies, and disciplines.

“At The Block, we often say that art is a form of collaborative knowledge,” Lee said. “This experience is just one instance of that; genuine curiosity and support of non-Eurocentric narratives.”

Image: Woodblock Print of Celestial Chart Stone, 1571, woodblock print on paper, 129.0×83.0cm, National Palace Museum of Korea. ⓒNational Palace Museum of Korea