As a print student you will develop a broad base of knowledge of various print mediums, including traditional intaglio, lithography, and relief printing, as well as digital media applications. The program combines approaches to learning that range from kinesthetic to theoretical. As you grow in the major, so too will your ability to produce distinct impressions and multiples, from hand-printed limited editions to unlimited digital ones. In the Printmaking major you will find cooperation and synergy—students and faculty investigating, challenging, and influencing this field together. We foster a vigorous environment with a structured program that nurtures, challenges, and supports individual vision and talent. Our studio workshop cultivates an innovative and collaborative atmosphere where you’ll take part in the free exchange of ideas, methodology, and artistic inquiry. Within the Printmaking space, we’ve created a professional studio setting of more than 4,000 square feet. You’ll have access to numerous etching and lithography presses, as well as book arts and letterpress facilities. You will also receive a personal studio space, allowing you to explore and create in your very own environment. Through our required studio courses you’ll develop a comprehensive approach to understanding, defining, making, and questioning your practice of printmaking. Our curriculum is designed to develop your intellectual, creative, and critical abilities. You’ll work with a committed group of faculty who are practicing artists widely respected for their knowledge and achievements. They will work with you to hone your skills and define your personal direction. As part of the Visual Arts + Technologies (VAT) Environment at CIA, Printmaking students share in an integrated curriculum that will give you a broad knowledge in the visual arts while strengthening your in-depth conceptual knowledge of the
Printmaking discipline. Your coursework and studio practice will be enriched as you pursue collaborations and shared coursework in the other disciplines that make up the VAT Environment: Drawing, Painting, Fiber + Material Studies, and Sculpture. In addition, you’ll have access to the VAT Environment’s Artist-In-Residence, who is an artist working at the top of his or her field. This artist teaches regular courses in the Environment as well as working individually with students. In the spring you have an opportunity to travel to New York during an annual trip, sponsored by the VAT Environment, where you’ll experience first-hand professional galleries and exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial and the Armory Show. In our Professional Practices program, students develop small business knowledge that will empower you to set up your professional studio. You’ll be tutored in creating your professional portfolio and developing grant-writing skills. In addition, you’ll learn about the appropriate communications skills and proper etiquette necessary for successfully approaching dealers, curators, and collectors. The Printmaking curriculum culminates with a BFA exhibition that consists not only of presenting a body of selfinitiated work, but also an oral defense and a written artist statement. Our Printmaking graduates go on to work in fine arts print studios executing original prints for other artists. They have gone on to receive full stipends in prominent studio programs in museums and in academia and are creative and challenging teachers and cultural activists. Our graduates have gone on to work in web design companies, in museums, in conservation, as curators for publishers, and in art galleries.
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