By
Kate VonderPorten
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Visiting artists collaborate on print portfolio for art department fund-raiser
The UA art department is printing money - well, kind of.
The printmaking division of the UA art department has invited 10 visiting artists - including American Indian artist Edgar Heap of Birds - to create a collaborative print portfolio that will be sold to benefit the division.
The portfolio will showcase each of the 10 artists' individual artistic visions. Heap of Birds said his contribution will deviate from stereotypical American Indian artwork.
"If you looked at these prints, you wouldn't think 'Native American this or that.' It is very much individualistic visions - getting away from using symbolism that has been used before," Heap of Birds said. "It is important to present your own vision, and not what the white man expects from you, because you could certainly profit or profiteer from presenting the stereotypes. It's important to try to generate your own personal images."
Heap of Birds attempts to include often omitted native history through his artwork and lectures around the country.
"Historically, if you took an American history class, you probably would not learn about native peoples, so you don't actually learn about history, but about white-man history," Heap of Birds said. "When I go into a community, I end up making a public statement through art that deals with the history of native people, such as massacres and land being stolen. I might be the first person to discuss these issues. They may have never been on the table before. There is so much omission, I end up taking a spokesperson's lead."
When Heap of Birds lectures at a university, he is able to provide guidance to American Indian student artists, as well as to others.
"There is a Native American student here that really connected with my work, and I think it has been really important for him to have a mentor, and I think it was really affirming to interact with him," he said. "It is nice for someone who has an affinity for these issues to help a student out."
The UA art department brings in visiting artists to broaden art students' exposure to professional artists. The proceeds from the sale of the collaborative portfolio will be used to bring in more visiting artists like Heap of Birds for the department.
"There is going to be a silent auction, and we expect to make over $100,000, which will go to the visiting artists program to enrich our program, and a small part of the sales will go to a scholarship fund for advanced printmaking students," said Sheila Pitt, head of the UA printmaking division. "Museums, collectors and galleries will be buying the editioned portfolios of prints by the 10 artists, in addition to individual prints from the collection."
Along with bringing in visiting artists for the portfolio project, the department also hired internationally renowned master printer Jack Lemmon to both teach students and assist them in making more than 600 prints of the portfolio.
"The idea was to get a master printer to teach the students and to help them understand the portfolio process," Pitt said. "(Lemmon) has been more than we could have imagined."
Annie Schap, new genre art junior, said she has found the portfolio project particularly helpful in her art education.
"The most beneficial part of this project, for me, has been working with the master printer, Jack Lemmon. He's rad and an excellent teacher," she stated in an e-mail.
Many staff members and students took part in making this project a reality. Pitt described the process of putting the portfolio together as similar to staging a full theater production.
"I see the whole thing like a movie - the artists are the stars, Jack Lemmon is the director, and the students are the behind-the-scenes people. We all make it happen," she said.
