A pot of gold is said to be at the end of every rainbow. Recently, that legend proved true.
Nestled on the fifth floor of Building C, the printmaking department is one of the best-kept secrets at SCAD. But Professor Robert Brown, chair of the printmaking department, hopes it won’t be a secret for much longer. His ultimate goal? To stimulate more students to take classes in the world where art collides with ancient and new technologies and processes.
Brown said he fell in love with printmaking the first time he walked into a printshop in college. Since then, he earned a BFA and a MFA in printmaking and, interned with a master printer at Flatbed Press. He then became a master printer before venturing into academia.
Unlike many other fine artists who are more attracted to painting or photography, Brown said he has always been a printmaking junkie. “I’m technically minded. Printmaking deals with mechanical things, chemical variables. To some degree, it’s like cooking. You follow a recipe, but it’s also possible to modify the process and achieve different effects.”
Now in his third year in Atlanta, Brown previously worked four quarters in Lacoste and five years in Savannah. SCAD Savannah has a well-established minor in printmaking, but the BFA, MA and MFA degree programs are only offered in Atlanta. Atlanta offers several opportunities for emerging printmakers. Besides SCAD Atlanta’s printmaking facilities, professionals can work in cooperatives or at the Atlanta Printmaking Studio.
Unlike other careers in the arts, printmakers often work closely with the community.
“Printmakers are social animals,” Brown said.
According to Brown, that is what attracts people to the printmaking field — the opportunity to work on collaborative projects. Artists can invest money in their own equipment, but the manifold technologies they deal with often require artists to work with colleagues who master specific processes or equipment.
To get a glimpse the world of printmaking, Brown suggests students take the introduction to printmaking course. It’s a hard class, he said, but it’s a good option for students who have one elective to spare. It covers intaglio, relief, lithography and monoprint.
Printmaking majors have more concentrated introductory options, such as introduction to etching, introduction to lithography and relief printmaking.
Opportunities to engage in printmaking are not limited to formal courses, though. Students recently launched a Print Club, which already has projects and long term goals.
“One of [the goals] is to go to the Southern Graphics Council, which is the largest printmaking conference in the world,” Brown said. The club meets on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at the printshop and is open to all.
Also, on Nov. 12, SCAD will host Open Studio, in which the printmaking department is planning to have four demonstrations: etching, silk screen, letterpress and lithography. Among the pieces to be printed, is a sample of the artwork produced in collaboration with visiting artist Chackaia Booker.
If you cannot attend the meetings or the Open Studio event, the “social animals” will be in their shops and studios, eager to show off their work. And you don’t even need to chase a leprechaun to find them. Directions are easy: fifth floor, Building C, at the far end on the left.
That’s where the rainbow ends.