The student-curated exhibition Printing History investigates how printmaking has challenged definitions of authority, industry, and status since the original graphic revolution began around 1400. Printing History consists of 30 works selected from the College of Wooster Art Museum's permanent collection, ranging from Albrecht Dürer to Andy Warhol. The exhibition surveys print technologies to illuminate the artistic and social circumstances in which these images were crafted, circulated, and consumed.

The College of Wooster Art Museum routinely undertakes collaborative exhibition projects with faculty and students that synthesize course work with research of objects selected from the CWAM’s permanent collection. This year’s collaborative exhibition project is part of the seminar History of Prints, taught by Tracy Cosgriff, Assistant Professor of Art History. The course description below outlines some of what students studied while developing the exhibition:

"Ours is the age of exponential image-making. This upper-division seminar critically examines the original graphic revolution: the invention of prints and the emergence of duplicable media in the West, whose cultural currency and aesthetic criteria differ considerably from those of painting, sculpture, and architecture. From the woodblock to the silkscreen, we will survey the technologies of printmaking to illuminate the social and artistic circumstances in which these images were crafted, circulated, and consumed. Major themes include: imitation and invention, authorship and audience, original and copy. Together, we will explore how print media shaped cultural definitions of canon, creativity, and industry, and by interrogating real objects, we will critically reconsider their role as agents of historical meaning."

Opening Reception
Thursday, April 18, 6:30-8:00pm
Gallery Talks by Students, 7pm

Please visit the 'External Link' below for more information about the exhibition and its programming.