PRINTMAKING Mission Statement:
At George Mason, students in the printmaking concentration experience a broad interdisciplinary approach, have the ability to design their own program and mix with students from other academic areas who enjoy printmaking as much as they do. Students develop the printed image as a core strategy for artistic practice in today's world at a time when visual artists everywhere investigate cross-disciplinary boundaries. They have the option and are encouraged to integrate printmaking with painting, sculpture, installation and web-based art. By means of curriculum and research involving various visual cultures, students learn and apply traditional print media applications, work with visiting artists and explore various alternate printmaking media in the studio.
In 2006 as part of the newly formed FRIENDS OF ART, a maser printmaking program Navigation Press: Prints, Books and Multiples was established. Navigation Press will annually invite nationally prominent artists to make prints in collaboration with a team of printmaking faculty, graduate and undergraduate students at George Mason University
Helen C. Frederick, Division Coordinator, Printmaking
Art and Visual Technology Department
Susan Goldman, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Master Printer
Art and Visual Technology Department
Visiting Instructors:
Kate Woodliff
Tai Hwa Goh
Jenny Freestone
Manuel Navarette
History of Visiting Artists:
Pepe Coronado
Steve Prince
Anita Jung
Bruce Muirhead
Dennis O’Neil
Joyce Scott
PRINTMAKING COURSES
AVT 243
Printmaking I
Basics of hand printing emphasizing the translation and transferal of images, including the tools, equipment, technical skills and aesthetic appreciation enabling the making of a well-defined editioned print. Focus is on intaglio, drypoint, relief and solar plate techniques.
AVT 343
Printmaking II
Prerequisites: AVT 243 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Introduction to screenprint and monoprint printing, including the study of historical antecedents and their relevancy to contemporary printmaking. Students will learn reductive and additive color techniques in preparing printing surfaces.
AVT 344
Printmaking III
Prerequisites: AVT 243 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Intermediate print media course emphasizing a wider variety of tools and concepts that investigate photo-based imagery and advance personal narration. Students develop a series of works employing knowledge from Printmaking I
and II.
AVT 345
Artists’ Books as Visual Language
Prerequisites: AVT 180 or permission of the instructor.
Intermediate course exploring elements of sequential imagery and pagination in hand bound book production, including movable and sculptural structures. Projects develop personal narrative content and are output electronically or hand printed on specialized papers.
AVT 346
Digital Printmaking
Prerequisites: AVT 180 or permission of the instructor.
Beginning course in hand printing of digitally processed images. Focus on electronic creation and manipulation of imagery emphasizing digital cameras and Photoshop application for screenprinting. Students learn multiple steps and incremental development required in making prints.
AVT Printmaking 442
Printmaking III
Prerequisites: AVT 344 or 345 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Advanced printmaking course using hand drawn, digital and photo-based imagery. Students explore traditional and new printmaking techniques in series of related prints and explore their relevancy to contemporary printmaking. May be repeated (12 credits maximum).
AVT 443
Printmaking IV
Prerequisites: AVT 442 or equivalent or permission of the instructor. Advanced printmaking course Develop concepts in hand printmaking, bookmaking, sculptural prints and installations. Contemporary printmaking is explored through critical discussions, reading and writing. May be repeated (12 credits maximum).
AVT 605/ 606
Printmaking VI
Prerequisites: AVT 442 or 443 or equivalent or permission of the instructor. Intensive graduate level printmaking studies furthering independence through production of work reflecting specific interests, including the broader context of social, cultural and contemporary issues. Engage in collaborative studio practice. and enabling integration of many visual technologies.
AVT 642, 643
Graduate Printmaking I, II
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor. Directed research and practice in printmaking for individualized development of content and technique. Emphasis is placed on exploration and growth in the intellectual, conceptual and expressive aspects of the printmaking process.
AVT 644
Advanced Graduate Printmaking I, II
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor. Advanced intensive course of printmaking exploration furthering independence and production of individualized bodies of work reflective of specific interests within broader context of contemporary art. Engage in collaborative studio practices for integration of many visual technologies. Repeatable for ten credits.
OTHER INSTRUCTION
AVT 491, 492
Independent Study in Art and Visual Technology
Prerequisite: 60 credits, permission of the instructor, and permission of the chair. Study proposal submitted prior to registration. Opportunity for development of advanced skills and concepts in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and other media. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
AVT 399/ 599
Special Topics (Print Slam / NAVIGATION PRESS productions)
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor. Exploration of in printmaking including both the theoretical and critical aspects of studio production. Half the semester is devoted to visiting artist production and half to student’s own work. May be repeated when taken under different topics
AVT 610
Graduate Seminar
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor. Seminar course required four times during graduate study. Students present work for discussion in peer and faculty critiques. Focus given to developing public communication and presentation skills on contemporary art issues. Repeatable for four credits.
AVT 670
Teaching Practicum
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program of permission of the instructor. Supervised classroom teaching practicum in the graduate program at George Mason or in a community college program. May be repeated for a total of six credits.
AVT 693
Apprenticeship
Prerequisite: Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor. AVT students apprentice at a local art studios or businesses that conform to their interest in art and visual information technology. May be repeated for a total of six credits.
