Special Topics in Printmaking: History and Practice of Printmaking

3 units

This course focuses on the history and creation of prints. We will examine the specificities of the medium, historically and in the present, that contribute to its particular meaning, and that render it distinct from other forms of visual culture. Ideas of expression, interpretation, and ideological investment are seen on the continuum that ranges from the highly personal relationship of a print to its maker, to the commodification of the print within popular culture. Weekly lectures on the history of prints will complement the studio sessions, as will field trips to studios of St. Louis artists, and visits to local museums. We will look at prints in their historical role as reproductions in a pre-photographic age, as representations of shared religious and social values, and as vehicles of social or political critique. Artists to be discussed include, among others, Durer, Rembrandt, Daumier, Degas, Gauguin, Kirchner, Kollwitz, Warhol, Spero, Rauschenberg, Gonzales-Torres and Kiki Smith. All students will make prints, and all will write critical and historical analyses. Prerequisite: L01 112 or L01 113. Credit 3 units.