Prints featured in national show

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Concordia University Assistant Professor of Art Seth Boggs created two pieces of art that were accepted into the National Printmaking Exhibition as part of the Wichita Center for the Arts’ 2015 National Printmaking Exhibition July 17 through Aug. 16.

Boggs’ pieces were screen prints were titled “Complacent” and “Distant.”

According to the center’s website, “Printmaking is the process of creating art in a production or series of images, either on paper, fabric, plastic or parchment. Artists create more than one original print from a single original surface or a matrix. Matrices can be made of copper, zinc (etching), stone (lithography), blocks of wood (woodcuts), linoleum (lino cuts), fabric (silk screen), or other materials. National Print-making Exhibition reflects a range of print media, showcasing a diversified collection of subject matters as well as techniques.”

Over the past year, Boggs said he has been working on a body of prints using screen printing. The goal was to produce work for the faculty exhibition which happens every two years. He said he also wanted to continue honing the skills he uses in teaching.

“There’s something really, really satisfying about the physical activity of making a print versus working digitally,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed working with physical materials whether it be paint or graphite to create graphic elements that I then bring into my graphic design, even when I’m working on a piece that will be printed digitally later.”

Boggs encourages his students to do the same with material to bring added qualities to their pieces.

He said there is something in the image quality and the nature of the pixels that adds to a digital piece when using material for prints.

“It’s an opportunity to get away from the computer and actually struggle with material,” he said.

Boggs said screen printing creates problem-solving challenges. He said there are also challenges with the consistency of the ink and how that affects the quality of the image.

As Boggs was working on the prints, he decided he would submit work for the national show from his two collections, Angel prints and Astronauts.

The rules that he set for himself included: working with a single image of an angel; some type of typographic form; and a two-word phrase at the bottom of the print.

One of his phrases was “compliant disposition.” He said he wanted to put words together that he found interesting.

Boggs and his family visited Wichita to see his pieces and the other artwork on display.

“There’s something really interesting about seeing a gallery full of prints,” he said.

He said it felt good to see his work on display.

Overall, he said he enjoyed the experience and plans to encourage his students to submit their work in future shows. He is grateful that he gets the opportunity to teach students about screen printing at Concordia University.