Emily Ruzzamenti and family watch print-making videos.
While rooted in practical reproduction, the art of printmaking encompasses a variety of creative techniques, each with its own distinct qualities. This winter, the Exhibition Theory and Practice seminar in the Art Department has explored various facets of printmaking in the context of preparing an exhibition of prints from the Al and Vera Leese Collection, which were donated by the Leese's daughter Marian Boylan over the past four years in honor of her parents.
Literary critic and theorist Walter Benjamin's famed essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (1936), articulated the impact of mechanized production techniques on visual culture; this reading initiated our discussion of the significance of printmaking in contemporary society. Benjamin also asserted how this technological shift expanded the paradigm of viewing from exclusive adoration of original works to suggestion of a "conversation" between works and their contemporary viewers. Benjamin's essay stimulated interest among the students in understanding the impulses to employ printmaking as an artistic medium. As students launched into research, the techniques of etching, drypoint engraving, screen printing, aquatint, lithography, woodblock printing and wood engraving became focuses of investigation. Students have sought to articulate how these processes complement the artists' chosen subject matter to bring an idea, emotion, or landscape to life.
Nicole and Marisa Willis
We are indebted to Mrs. Boylan for providing the means by which these students have gained this "hands-on" experience. We are also grateful for the help of Museum and Preservation Specialist Paul Brower and Director Sarah Clark-Langager of the Western Gallery, who have encouraged us throughout the term and given us the benefit of their knowledge and insight. We are thankful as well for the expertise of the Art Department's Printmaking Instructor Ben Moreau, without whom we would have known far less about how these printmaking processes are achieved. Our thanks also go out to the printmaking students who let us invade their classroom to film them at work. Those videos are on display in the exhibition and will be posted on the Western Gallery website as part of the web installation of the exhibition.
The exhibit. Photo: Paul Brower
I have been fortunate to work this term with an avid group of students who have poured abundant energy and capability into the seminar and into this exhibition. I would like to thank Caitlin Argyle, Katherine Borden, Cory Budden, Curry Chiang, Whitney Gerlach, Monica Humphrey, Genevieve Mentele, Bridget Naidu, Katherine Nelson, Berit Ness, Taylor Roalson, Emily Ruzzamenti, Tanja Schwientek, Kelli Wessel and Marisa Willis for their dedication to this project and their determination to make contributions to the understanding of art and visual culture now and in the future.
Julia Sapin
Photos: ©Taylor Roalson
