Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition

Printmaking is an art medium that is most responsive to changing technologies, while also retaining many otherwise obsolete techniques. Print artists find themselves uniquely situated in the sense that they employ the latest digital imaging tools and centuries-old techniques for hand made mark making. This past March 25th- 29th Columbia College Chicago had the honor of hosting the Southern Graphics Council Conference 2009. Although the conference has come and gone they left their mark at the C33 E. Congress building where they feature their Traveling Exhibition.

Columbia is the first venues to host this traveling exhibition which features prints and drawings on paper created by members of the Southern Graphics Council. These prints have been juried by the Southern Graphics Council Printmaker Emeritus, Warrington Colescott, to best present works that embody the continually evolving practice of printmaking and its role in contemporary art. The aim is to present ways in which artists continue to innovate and push the boundaries of printmaking while maintaining a respect for the use of traditional methods and techniques. Which is the perfect fit with Columbia College where the magic word seems to be “innovate.” The mission statement of Columbia says they aim to teach students to expertly do the work they like to do, and to master the crafts of their intended occupations, as well as discover alternative opportunities to employ their talents and create change. It’s all about pushing the boundaries here.

This traveling exhibition showcases pieces that were everything from screen printed, intaglio, etched, aquatint, mezzotint, relief, lithography, to photo polymer etching, monotypes with vegetable dyes, woodblocks, linocuts, and combinations of these. There is such a diverse outcome when it comes to printmaking. The processes are so specific and different, not one piece was a like. Yet, I thought the traveling exhibition didn’t show case everything printmaking can be. I assume they were all small prints and similarly framed because the show is meant to, “travel.” But if you really want to “push the boundaries” why not mount the work in ways that break away from sterile white walls, to include installations, printed artists’ books, graffiti prints and paste-ups on city streets, 'zines and comics, even work that exists only in cyberspace.

One aspect of printmaking that I’m really drawn to is the concept that a print is not merely a photographic reproduction, it has an element of originality to it. And even if you print a plate more than once, you in most cases will never result in an identical print. “An original print is a fine art process that produces multiples. An original print is not a copy of a reproduction- each print is an original-created and hand pulled by the artist.” Maybe in this sense I am a formalist, but I enjoy this element of authenticity in artwork and as our world becomes increasingly abstract, virtual and harnessing new technologies, this value seems to be depleting in importance.

Printmaking traditions are a source of strength, but also a source of isolation. We now realize that our resources are limited, that what is done in one location will probably affect someone, somewhere else. And printmaking may now be seen as an art that is falling between the cracks of new technological advances and is no longer seen as a relevant form of printing just because it is a very meticulous, time consuming, tedious craft that has given way to laser ink jet printers- where an identical print is guaranteed every time. But I think its still important to hold strong to traditions and to create works that are irreproducible and have a certain aura and personality from all the labor put into them that you can’t get from a digitally drawn image.

The Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition funs March 9th- April 24th, 2009 and is free and open to the public Monday- Thursday 9-7 & Friday 9-5.

C33 Gallery
33 E. Congress
Chicago, IL 60605