The phenomena of historical competition is acute in speaking about the American west. Was the west a land of trailblazers who sought constantly to overturn convention or a land full of people who were forcibly displaced? Was the west a series of homesteads, occupied by those who sought to control their own destinies in the face of increasingly powerful interests of the oil tycoons and railroad barons or could it have been a series of dynamic villages which sought to build up a new economy and society that gave unprecedented rights to women and thousands of individuals rejected by the coastal cities? Was the west a triumph of the individual or a testament to the community?
These are the issues that the artists participating in the 2018 National Printing conference on October 3rd – 8th in the Visual Arts Building hope to address.
The theme for this years MAPC 2018, as the conference is called, is “Go West: A Collaborative Turn.” Artists from around the country will be featured, all of whom hope to contribute not only to their craft, but to the sometimes conscientious conversation about the history of the American West.
The conference will include exhibitions, panel discussions, demonstrations, interactions with vendors and professional contact with artists and scholars.
Along with the conference, the UW Art Museum will host several exhibitions including prints from contemporary Native American artists and Japanese relief prints. Exhibitions will also be hosted throughout downtown Laramie and the Visual Arts Building.
The Mid America Print Council is an organization of various artists and collaborators devoted exploring the world through the art of printmaking. A varied art, printmaking refers to any effort to produce any image by various techniques of multiplication. Put simply, an artist will produce an original image, and then replicate it again and again.
Such a flexible definition allows for a wide variety of mediums on which artists can express themselves. Metal cutting, wood engraving, even linoleum can be used to produce images.
It seems appropriate then that such an open-ended approach to creation attracts those who are open-minded, which is why Mark Ritchie, UW professor of printmaking, believes hosting such a conference will help expand Wyoming’s limited reputation.
“We’re a place that people think to come for vacations, but coming here professionally is exciting. We get the chance to share what we do here at UW with other artists and educators,” said Ritchie. “This also is an opportunity for Wyoming educators who might not be able to attend these types of conferences to visit us. It’s rare to have a national conference in your region.”
The west is complicated. Questions surround its identity and place in the world and in history, but maybe not all are meant to be answered. Perhaps they are a little more open ended, meant to be reprinted again and again and again, just like any good piece of art.
For more information about the conference, including how to register and a complete schedule, visit www.MAPC2018.org or email Ritchie at marrit@uwyo.edu.
