CORVALLIS, Ore. – Printmaker April Vollmer will speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at Oregon State University in Corvallis as part of the School of Arts & Communication’s Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture Series.

The talk will be held in Construction & Engineering Hall at the LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St. A reception with the artist will be held at 6 p.m. in the Myrtle Tree Alcove outside of the auditorium. Both are free and open to the public.

Vollmer is a New York artist and writer with an M.F.A. from Hunter College, whose work has been exhibited internationally. She specializes in Japanese woodcut and has lectured and taught many workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her book, “Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop,” about the contemporary use of traditional Japanese woodcut, was released in 2015. She is on the advisory board of the International Mokuhanga Association and is currently organizing their conference set for Nara, Japan in 2020.

Vollmer’s talk, “Mokuhanga in Translation,” will describe the unique characteristics of Japanese woodcut that made it essential to the evolution of her work. She will include a brief overview of the history of woodcut printing in Japan, where it was an expression of changing culture during the Edo period. She will also describe how the same flexible, non-toxic technique is being used by contemporary artists worldwide to create challenging new work.

“Mokuhanga” is the Japanese word for woodcut print. “Ukiyo-e,” (pictures of the floating world) were prints, paintings, books and decorative items from the Edo period (1603-1868). Popular prints made then were created by a group of specialists including artists, carvers, and printers whose work was coordinated by a publisher. A few professional shops exist today, but individual artists also have begun to use this technique for contemporary expression.

Vollmer is the 2019 Norma Seibert Printmaking Artist at OSU. She will be in residence on campus the week of her lecture and will spend time reviewing and critiquing student art work. She will also create one of the three prints available for purchase to benefit the OSU Norma Seibert Printmaking Scholarship, awarded in the spring.

The Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture series brings world-renowned artists and scholars to the OSU campus to interact with students in the art department so they can learn what is required of a professional artist or scholar. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2dVv5kW.

College of Liberal Arts

About the OSU College of Liberal Arts: The College of Liberal Arts encompasses seven distinct schools, as well as several interdisciplinary initiatives, that focus on humanities, social sciences, and fine and performing arts. Curriculum developed by the college’s nationally and internationally-renowned faculty prepares students to approach the complex problems of the world ethically and thoughtfully, contributing to a student's academic foundation and helping to build real-world skills for a 21st century career and a purposeful life.

Story By: 

Erin Sneller, 541-737-5592, [email protected]

Source: 

Yuji Hiratsuka, 541-737-5006, [email protected]

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