Visiting USF's Graphicstudio

Raft by Mernet Larsen -- 13-run lithograph  with collage elements -- 2018  Edition: 50  -- $3,000

In a perfect world, all of the art in my home would be original. But here’s a news flash:  the world is not a perfect place. And so I have lithographs and other prints on my walls in addition to some originals. But there’s a difference between a fine art print and a print you can get from Home Goods, and it’s much more than the price tag.  

I recently had the opportunity to tour USF’s Graphicstudio in Tampa with my friends Deb and Libbie.  We thought we were in for a lesson on fine art printmaking. And while we did get a primer on the printmaking process, we learned a whole lot more. 

Graphicstudio was founded in 1968 and functions in tandem with USF's Museum of Contemporary Art, Public Art and Art in Medicine programs as the "Institute for Research in Art." Since its inception, Graphicstudio's staff has worked collaboratively with artists to solve their creative problems.  

Tampa Clay Piece by Robert Rauschenberg -- 1092

Robert Rauschenberg was one of the atelier’s first clients.  At the time, Rauschenberg was working on a series of sculptures made from -- or designed to look as if they were made from -- cardboard boxes. The USF team, which included representatives from the Art Department and Graphicstudio, worked with Rauschenberg to create the iconic Tampa Clay series. (Kristin Soderqvist, Director of Marketing and our tour guide, told us that during the production process, a janitor put some of the boxes out with the trash. They were retrieved -- very carefully.)  To read a great article about a Rauschenberg exhibit in Houston that included some of the Tampa Clay works, click here.   

Apparition by Teresita Fernandez --  Polished precision cut stainless steel  -- 2007

Graphicstudio continues to collaborate with artists today to bring their designs to life. Shown here is Apparition by Teresita Fernandez. The photo truly does not do this work justice.  Executive Director Margaret Miller shared that Fernandez came to the atelier with an idea that was more or less a doily on a toothpick. It took some serious creativity on the part of the Graphicstudio team to get from that vision to this striking work. Click here to see more of Fernandez' work published by Graphicstudio. And if you happen to be on campus, her Stacked Landscape can be found in the entrance rotunda at the College of Nursing.

From Love Bugs by Vik Muniz -- photogravure -- 2014  Edition: 20  -- $2,000

Graphicstudio's print work is just as innovative and collaborative. Brazilian artist Vik Muniz spent time in Tampa during the most disgusting time of year -- love bug season. He found the area's strip clubs nearly as ubiquitous as the insects. Muniz dreamed up the idea of combining the two by freezing love bugs and then posing them in positions from the Kamasutra.  Graphicstudio worked with him on the project and eventually published a series of 12 photogravures of the love bugs in action, so to speak. Each photogravure sells for $2,000 or you can get the entire set for a cool $20K.  

Towers of Flowers by Kenny Scharf Edition: 20 -- $3,000

Then, of course, there is Graphicstudio's more traditional fine art printmaking. There was so much information being fired at us that I wished I knew shorthand. We learned that lithographs are now printed from a copper steel plate rather than a stone.  With the change in production process, there is uniformity in the quality of the prints. Lithos created earlier in the run no longer have greater value than those printed first. Still, every litho that's printed doesn't find its way into the market. There can be imperfections in the paper -- a crimp here, a slight blemish there. Graphicstudio's rule of thumb for publishing an edition of 50 lithos is to run 70 and select the best ones. 

We had the opportunity to check out some of the "handle copies" of work used for education purposes. Here you see the iterations of Kenny Scharf's Towers of Flowers, a five run, five color intanglio (aquatint and line etching with spit-bite aquatint, engraving, roulette work). If you're like me, you don't quite understand what this combination of words means. It all adds up, however, to a lot of time and hard work to get to the published work of art. Click here to see the final version of Towers of Flowers.

Looking at a litho under the "light of justice"

I could go on and on about the things that we saw and learned while we were at Graphicstudio. Like the fact that Alex Katz is such a big fan of their work that he sends them pictures of recent images and tells them to pick one they'd like to make into a lithograph. (Click here to see the work they've done for Katz, including Kym, a litho of the artist's fishmonger.) Or that they offer week-long artist residencies, at the end of which an approved print has been created to go into production. Or that one print from every publication is sent to the National Gallery of Art for its archives.

But here is perhaps the most interesting news of all for art lovers in the Tampa area. We didn't get to tour Graphicstudio through any special connections or by paying an enormous fee. Graphicstudio's dynamic team is thrilled to give free tours of its facilities. For information, just visit their website by clicking here.  And while you're there, take the time to peruse the Artists section for images of works that they've published and loads of other info.  It's an amazing resource in and of itself.

Thanks to the Kristin and Margaret for an amazing morning -- and to Libbie for suggesting it!  I will never look at the art on my walls in the same way.