By: MELISSA SEYBOLDT
Staff Writer
mekseybo@imail.iu.edu
Latino printmaking from across the country is currently mounted on the walls of IU South Bend’s Art Gallery. Consejo Gráfico, an independent network of print workshops, made these works available through coordination between the gallery’s director and a local
artist.
On Friday evening, Sept. 5, the Art Gallery hosted a reception to acknowledge the exhibit.
Among those present was Ramiro Rodriguez of South Bend. A painter, printmaker and exhibition coordinator at the Snite Museum of Art, he reached out to his fellow members of Consejo Gráfico to bring their work to the gallery’s walls.
The exhibit, titled “Translations,” is available for viewing through Sept. 20.
Rodriguez elaborated on how the title came about.
“It’s a play on the language, a different culture and translating cultural ideas – also translating various techniques in printmaking. It’s a nice catch-all for those sort of ideas,” he said.
According to the Museum of Modern Art’s website, a print is created “not by drawing directly on paper, but through an indirect transfer process. The artist begins by creating a composition on another surface and the transfer occurs when a sheet of paper, placed in contact with this surface, is run through a printing press.”
The variety of printmaking methods used among the artists is impressive; woodcuts, linoleum relief prints, silkscreen, etching and lithography are only a fraction of them.
It’s apparent that each print is as unique as the artists who produced them, and that each has a different story to tell.
Artists from Chicago, South Bend, Austin, New York, Los Angeles and other regions sent their work to be displayed. This reflects the willingness of Consejo Gráfico’s members to exhibit each other’s work across the country.
“When Josh [Miller] expressed an interest in this group and what we do, I started emailing everybody, calling everybody, asking for what would be possible to send in,” Rodriguez said.
Miller, director of the Art Gallery, expressed joy in having a broad spectrum of regions represented in the exhibit.
“Most of our work tends to be a little more regional, because we’re only about a year-old,” Miller said. “This is the first true, national show where we’ve brought in people from all over the country to exhibit their work here, which is pretty exciting.”
Guests enjoyed light refreshments as they perused the gallery. Many greeted Rodriguez and Miller, congratulating them on making the show possible.
Liz Dube, who is acquainted with some of the artists represented, intently gazed at the prints.
“I think it’s great,” Dube said. “There’s really wonderful stuff here for sure, and there’s quite a diversity of printing and themes. I’m impressed.”
Printmaking major Maclovio Cantu is especially touched by the exhibit, as he was mentored by master printmaker Joseph Segura.
“This particular show holds a lot of weight with me because [the artists] are actually the reason why I am a printmaker,” Cantu said, noting that he’s ventured into the gallery every day since the exhibit began.
The Art Gallery is open from 12-5pm, Monday-Saturday. Admission is free.
For more information visit arts.iusb.edu.
