CSULB Printmakers take all the LAPS Foundation Awards

Four CSULB printmakers won all of the 2010 Scholarship Grant Awards offered by the Los Angeles Printmaking Society's Foundation Scholarship Grant Awards. First prize went to Brian Borlaug, second to Alex Fridrich, third to Andrea Ueda and fourth to Lieghann Van Dventer. They were presented with their award money January 15, 2011 after the LAPS Board meeting at the home of a Board member. Congratulations on your accomplishments!

"Color Between the Lines: Celebrating the Techniques of Printmaking"

The screenprint repro'ed here is by Jacob Lawrence, from 1944, & measures 13 7/8 x 10". It is included in this exhibition along with woodcuts by Werner Drewes; etchings by Leonard Edmondson, & Ynez Johnston; linocuts by Elizabeth Catlett; lithographs by Adja Yunkers, & John Paul Jones; wood engravings by Lynd Ward; & photogravures by Alfred Stieglitz, & Edweard Muybridge. The show runs from 1/15 - 3/30, with an opening reception on Sat., 1/15, from 2 - 6 PM. The gallery is located at 7321 Beverly Blvd., in Los Angeles, with regular hours running: Wednesday - Saturday, 11am-5pm. The gallery's phone #is: 323/933-5523, & the email address for questions or further info is: tobeymoss@earthlink.net. The exhibition will be coinciding with the Miracle Mile ArtWalk.

The statement below is from Tobey Moss -

"Printmaking is a risky business! The artist’s hand, concept and palette often result in startling surprises because of the physical efforts; the many types of available papers; the humidity of the moment affecting the viscosity of pigments; absorbency of the selected paper; the resultant mirror image from the printer, the pressure of the press - and the skill of the printer! Sometimes the print is pulled by the artist; sometimes the print is pulled in collaboration with a trained printer. These are only a few of the many elements that can affect the approved print - and the satisfaction of the artist.

My Gallery was opened with a specialization in Prints. Though we offer paintings, drawings and sculpture also, the love of printmaking is still a primary stimulus."

Perhaps she'll also proffer some of Jacob Landau's wonderful prints to look at (if so requested). The last time I saw my friend Jacob (who continues to remain a guide and inspiration to me), was at one of his last openings at this very gallery, shortly before his death. Despite the frailty of his body, his indomitable & fierce spirit was keenly evident, & it was wonderful seeing him surrounded by his extraordinary body of work.

Thanks to Erynn for pointing this one out! Thanks also to Tobey Moss for keeping printmaking as a passionate concern.

Marie Thibeault's Drawings - "Compilation"

Marie Thibeault's powerful and muscular abstracted drawings will be shown for 1 night only from 7 - 9 PM at the Post Gallery, 1904 East 7th Place, LA, CA, 213/488-1280. This will occur Sunday, 1/9/11.

Marie & I have both taught at CSULB since 1989, & she taught at both Alfred University in New York, & at Humboldt State in northern California prior to coming to Long Beach. Marie has an MFA degree in Drawing & Painting from the University of CA, Berkeley & her mainly black & white drawings allude to both man-made grid structures & biologically dense linear networks that intertwine with them.

As for the notion of the "Kamikaze" show, I think that generally, (especially for those of us who make fragile art on paper), it seems a questionable idea, that benefits mostly the gallery owner. I believe that the notion might hover around novelty, coupled with the frission afforded by the similarity to the University "critique" format. Of course, one can't escape the fact that most sales usually occur on the opening night of an exhibition. Ergo, to generate more sales, this somewhat one-sided strategy has started to develop. The politics of the marketplace.

I would posit that in order to contemplate, absorb & connect with work in a meaningful way, the viewer (this one anyway) requires a quiet & prolonged meditation with it, not a frenetic & hurried glance that (if one is lucky) occurs at a crowded networking fest at an opening. That said, I grant you, these are economically tough times to endure, & perhaps the only way an independently funded space can exist is to host these blitzkrieg openings. Sigh.

Since 9/09, Post Gallery has been hosting these solo exhibitions, one per night, based on a lottery-style drawing among the selected artists. Noah Thomas (who has former CSULB connections) follows Marie on 1/24/11, & two of my former students, Matt Ohm & Kristi Lippiere have also had their work shown the requisite 3 hours in the past.

The Periodic Table - A Printmaking Exchange Portfolio

Anna Javier mentioned to me that she was considering doing this project about a year ago, so I searched the images to see if I could locate her print. While I didn't see it, Atomic #'s 73 & 101 really stood out from the other 118 (perhaps because they are relief prints?) represented. "Tantalum," the black & white linoleum cut, was made by an artist from Maryland, Jeffrey Heft. Natalia Moroz, who lives in North Carolina, created a color linoleum reduction cut for "Menderevium." The URL for viewing the entire project is: http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/
96 artists from 7 different countries came together to create these square prints that measure a mere 6 x 6". While the overall efforts prove uneven, along with the 2 images repro'ed here, there are other standouts in the ambitious project.

Alex Gardner in Group Exhibition

Alex Gardner is part of a group show that opens on 1/8/11 at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim. The festivities will commence at 7 PM, & wind down by 11 PM. Address? 170 South Harbor Blvd. - Phone? 714/829-8283 - Web-site? www.rothick.com

"Devotion to Craftsmanship Revealed in Each Cut, Gouge"

10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, December 29, 2010By DANIEL FOSTER and JILL JONES

Special to The Press-Enterprise
Artist Tim Musso reveals an intricate, magnificently detailed world in his woodcut and screenprint work.
He captures details in nature so precisely that we feel as if we are viewing the object itself held up to us in a magnified format so that we won't miss any bit of the delicious, extremely nuanced details. His devotion to craftsmanship is revealed in each cut, gouge and stroke, and in the more than 50 hours of work devoted to each piece.

"His affinity and passion for nature and the outdoors permeates his work.
Drawing from his experiences that challenge his mind and body, he creates beautifully organic pieces by taking the smallest details and enlarging them so that we can explore every facet. The physicality of each piece is mirrored by the level of thought that goes into them," said graphic designer Chhun Tang.

As an assistant art professor, Tim Musso teaches printmaking, graphic design and foundation design at La Sierra University in Riverside. As an assistant art professor, Tim Musso teaches printmaking, graphic design and foundation design at La Sierra University in Riverside.
The rocks, lichen, roots, branches and bark along Musso's 590-mile hike in Oregon has provided the basis for a full series of work.

"I took inspiration for this body of work while hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail over the span of five years. Removed from society and traversing the San Bernardino Sierra Nevada, and Cascade mountain ranges, I became acutely aware of the power of nature to survive in harsh conditions. Trees growing out of solid granite on a windy mountain pass at 10,000 feet, seem to invite one to contemplate this power," said Musso. "In this setting one cannot help but question our relationship to these tenacious life forms. To explore this relationship I have turned to investigating the ecological and botanical cycles that support the trees of this unique landscape. ... In the resulting multitude of prints, certain forms repeat and recycle, demonstrating the plurality and strength of the normally unseen cycles of life."

The resulting print work is amazingly complex and rich with detail. Much of the work is in black and white that heightens the contrast level. Several pieces are quite large, 29 by 41 inches, which also creates a greater impact.
"Printmaking can be an extremely versatile medium, and the individual printmaker truly develops a relationship with each piece through process, patience and practice.

Tim Musso's work combines creative spontaneity with intense dedication to process and craft in creating very extraordinary and beautiful prints that portray complexity and depth as seen in nature. Musso uses his knowledge of technology and traditional print processes in combination with his internal motivation as a visual artist, to create forms that we recognize, but can't necessarily identify, giving us a new vocabulary of visual form," said graphic designer Dana Herkelrath.

As an assistant art professor, Musso teaches printmaking, graphic design and foundation design at La Sierra University in Riverside.
He has exhibited in numerous group shows and has been a prolific designer fashioning posters and packaging materials for companies such as Doritos, Pepsico, Lays, Dannon, Disney, Los Angeles Opera and others.

He received both his BFA and MFA from California State University, Long Beach.
Musso's artwork will be exhibited in the La Sierra University Faculty Art Show in the Brandstater Art Gallery running from Jan. 24 through Feb.20, 2011. The opening reception event is on Monday, Feb. 14 from 6-8 p.m.

For more information about the Artist Spotlight, contact Daniel Foster, President/CEO at The Community Foundation at 951-684-4194 or DFoster@thecommunityfoundation.net

Final BBQ of the Semester

On the 17th, the printmakers at CSULB had planned to have a BBQ for the last day of the semester, but torrential rains would give one the impression that a BBQ could only be at the bottom of the list of possible activities. Undaunted by logic or weather, we had one anyway.