It’s print month in Austin, Texas! Print Austin offers a month of all things printmaking: exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, print demos – including a steamroller print event! – and more. There’s a wide range of in-person and virtual events.
Who knew Austin is a hub for printmaking in Texas? It makes sense, when you realize there are several university programs and professional print shops in the city. Here is a short history of PrintAustin.
PrintAustin exposition, PrintAustin image
Even though I am not able to attend this year, one of my artworks IS in Austin. (Does this mean I’m attending symbolically, as well as virtually?!)
standing on their shoulders was accepted for the exhibition The Contemporary Print.You can view the catalogue of the show here. I am grateful to PrintAustin and, in particular, Cathy Savage, for ensuring its safe passage and care in a venue thousands of miles away.
Standing on their Shoulders (foreground) and wish you were here….(background), Terry Vatrt, mixed media)
standing on their shoulders, T. Vatrt, mixed media, internal view
The Contemporary Print exhibition is hosted by Big Medium, and the juror is John Hitchcock, Associate Dean of Arts of the University Wisconsin-Madison. It opened on January 15 and runs until February 12, 2022.
Have you been indulging a bit, or a lot, in Print Month?
Click here for the E / AB (Online) Fair and here for the IFPDA viewing rooms. The viewing rooms are wonderful: informative, and visually satisfying. They really are treasure troves, and lots more fun than regular on-line shopping! Just think: Helen Frankenthaler, Carmen Herrera, Judy Pfaff, KiKi Smith, Marion MacPhee, Joan Miró, Rembrandt, Paulson Fontaine Press, Zea Mays Printmaking….and please, watch the video about Louise Nevelson at Tamarind Institute.
As you can imagine, The Art Caravan’s (in person) 2019 visit to NYC for Print Week was jam-packed with great art viewing. Seeing Emma Nishimura‘s work at the International Print Center New York was one of the (many) highlights.
Shifting Views, 2013, Emma Nishimura
Yes! This incredible piece, depicting the landscape near Slocan, British Columbia, is composed of cut pieces of the artist’s prints, wrapped by hand around the rods.
Shifting Views, (detail),2013, Emma Nishimura
In this exhibition, Paper Borders, Nishimura used the forced relocation of her Japanese-Canadian grandparents to an internment camp in rural Canada during the years of World War II as source material. (More than 22,000 Canadians of Japanese descent were required to live in camps in British Columbia. They were allowed one suitcase per person, and their homes and property were confiscated, and sold. Here is a brief summary of the Japanese internment in Canada.)
Nishimura’s technical skills in printmaking are exceptional. Note the exquisite etching details she executes by hand. The lines in the Constructed Narrative series are composed of text from historical and familial documents / papers.
Collected Stories, (detail) Emma Nishimura
Constructed Narratives 2013-ongoing series, Emma Nishimura
Nishimura’s An Archive of Rememory is a most engaging series. Furoshiki are traditional Japanese cloth used to carry everyday items, as well as gifts. Nishimura has made furoshiki out of her etchings of internment camp and family photos.
An Archive of Rememory, 2016-ongoing, Emma Nishimura
An Archive of Rememory, 2016-ongoing, Emma Nishimura
The artworks are wrapped, and knotted into paper furoshiki, to carry the memories of a Canadian family and their community. Her furoshiki appear simple, but are complex works. Nishimura’s sculptured vessels are made up of visual representations of memories of a community denied their homes and possessions.
furoshiki from An Archive of Rememory, photo etching and photo gravure on handmade flax and abaca
It’s a lot to absorb, I know. It’s disturbing source material. Nishimura’s expressions of her ideas are complex, creative and beautiful. If you’re interested in more information, and images of her work, I highly recommend her website .
