Despite being tied to the observance of strict traditions and technical rigors, printmaking has not been overshadowed by other mass printing media which, without a doubt, have snatched away its informative role but have not succeeded in undermining its possibilities as a vehicle for artistic exploration nor its denunciatory quality, by epitomizing political ideas, existential angst and ways to understand and approach reality through the honesty and expressiveness of the line.
Such characteristics lead us to always think about the constant return of printmaking as possibility or as getaway for the artists. We only have to look at the frequent rise and fall of printmaking studios in the city to understand how the cycles of circulation of ideas get materialized in images that share a common trait: the profound meditation that requires the elaboration of a print. Such meditation is inevitably connected to the scale of printmaking, which, in the vast majority of cases, is related to the scale of the artist’s body, allowing for a deep and intimate connection that is hard to achieve in a world where our minds get increasingly distracted.
As with everything there are exceptions, such as the monumental prints that occupy enormous dimensions, challenging the ideas on printmaking expressed by Pedro Nel Gómez during a speech at the opening of the exhibition Modern British Printmaking at the Instituto Cultural Colombo Británico, in July 1944: “The art of printmaking does not allow monumental manifestations, nor rhetoric-like postures….” An example of this exception is the work How to Overcome the State of Negligence? by German artist Thomas Kilpper —known for his committed political tenor— who was invited by the Museum to come to Medellin within the framework of 2011 MDE to work on an urban intervention at the pit of the Pablo Tobón Uribe Theater. At more than 4 meters high and 15 meters wide, this woodcut is the largest format work in the collection of Museo de Antioquia, and the result, at the theater pit, the largest printmaking matrix in the city.
Another notable exception is the collection of 349 works donated by Aníbal Gil to the Museum in 2021, the monumental size of this body of work constitutes the expression of an idea developed in time that reminds us, from its profound humanism, the broad spectrum of human emotions.
Perhaps the greatest challenge faced by printmaking in the context of contemporary art does not lie in its relationship with tradition, the academic world or the limitations of scale, format and frame, but its ability to contain, communicate and connect ideas, which is the motivation behind this exhibition. The Introspective Line undertakes a review, through notable examples and specific artistic trajectories, of the clear importance of printmaking not only at a retrospective scale, but also in the present.
At the Museum, we believe that the contemporary dimension of printmaking lies in its ability to embody some of the most urgent issues for a change in the paradigms of our crisis-ridden humanity; that is, joint work, transmission of knowledge, and community development with a focus on specific issues. It has become widely accepted and common to think that the most politically charged printmaking in Colombia was developed during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in the light of the violence and repression of the National Front and the uneasiness of the Cold War; however, it would be a mistake to believe that there is a lack of political commitment in contemporary printmaking. The political commitment is not limited to addressing violence and massacres; in contemporary printmaking, ecology, the interaction with nature, our perspective on the private scope, the intimate sphere and the day-to-day life define a new agenda; what at the beginning of the research was perceived as introspection have come to be understood as a turn in sensibility; consequently, there is not a single line, nor a single history of printmaking in Antioquia, it will always be necessary to review things from a critical point of view; in this particular case, and taking into account the most recent manifestations of printmaking featured in this exhibition, we may conclude that each artist is his or her own technique, and each work traces a trajectory, an introspective line.
Curatorship
Museo de Antioquia
