Tomorrow marks a special event at Hillcrest High School in Midvale. Master printmaker, Bret Hanson, will guest lecture and lead instructor Kari Bennett’s AP/IB Art students in a class project making collographs. What makes this such a unique experience? Printmaking often seems like a rare art form in our digital age. The printmaking process involves chemical reactions, patience, and, ultimately, mystery. One never knows exactly how his/her print will turn out. For artists, the journey becomes as important as the finished product.
BRET HANSON. Piranesi’s Dream, Collograph and cyanotype, mounted on birch panel, 2007. 25″x32″
In Bret Hanson’s 2007 mixture of collograph and cyanotype, Piranesi’s Dream, for example, the artist pays tribute to an Italian set designer, archaeologist, and etcher. Piranesi (1720-78) created fantasy scenes of Roman antiquities and is most famous for his depictions of imaginary prisons. His works prove influential to modern set designers, writers, and other artists. Hanson continues the dialogue by creating a fantastical arrangement of architectural elements, most notably of Roman arches. The nuanced background implies a dreamlike state and invites the viewer to experience a world away. Varying views and churches appear in the bottom third of the panel. Hanson’s works often include such religious elements along with maps, diagrams, and architecture. In this way, Hanson represents his own creative landscape and his art becomes a journey of discovery.
Classroom Explorations:
To learn more about printmaking, including various different processes like collograph, refer to: http://www.artistterms.com/printmaking.htm. Printmaking is a relatively rare form of creating artwork compared to other media. What other forms of artistic expression have taken ascendency in the contemporary art world? Why do you suppose this is?
For more information on the life and works of Piranesi, examine the Metropolitan Museum website at: www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pira/hd_pira.htm. Why are we fascinated with images of old ruins and fantasy? How do they influence us to look at the past? Think of modern movies and modern stage sets that you’re familiar with. Do any illustrate a similar focus to Piranesi’s works?
To experience more of Bret Hanson’s works and to discover more about his local showings, refer to his portfolio at: sites.google.com/site/brethansonart/cv. In looking at Bret Hanson’s works, how does the artist modernize the printmaking process? (Pay particular attention to his paper sculpture collections in considering this question.)
*This post includes excerpts from a previous post, “Bret Hanson: Maps of a Master Printmaker,” published on January 28, 2012.
