Printmaking

Program Head: Kimiko Miyoshi

The CSULB Printmaking Program and its studios comprise the most extensive and professional university facility in Southern California. Fully equipped for and offering individual courses in etching, lithography, relief printing, screen printing and photo print processes, our students earn the Minor, BFA, MA and MFA degrees through an intensive involvement with all print mediums. Course experiences begin at the 200 level and continue into senior and graduate level work that consists of independent study classes and special topics (recently, “Monotype Workshop” and “Printmaking: Art as a Social Statement”). A course in the History of Prints and Drawings (required for the major) is a valuable resource in our Art History area.

With two large studios that serve etching/relief printing and lithography/screen printing, as well as an in-house digital lab, the printmaking curriculum encompasses all the technical capabilities of each medium. Within this context, it is our goal to go beyond the connotations of technique-oriented prints to demand of each student work that challenges their preconceptions and artistic capabilities. Eschewing a “group style”, classes are structured so that students can provide assistance to each other and foster group interaction as each artist pursues their individual development according to his or her personal vision. Studio instruction is supplemented by class trips the Special Collection in the Library, University Art Museum and student galleries, films, readings, videos, guest artists and group critiques in order to engender a sensitivity toward the relationship between ideas, imagery, and subject matter as they relate to the creative potential of printmaking.

In our program, printmaking is viewed as a primary mode of image making and not as an ancillary to other art forms. We also encourage artists from other fields who wish to extend their creative expression through the medium of printmaking. As a result of this dynamic interactive environment, Printmaking provides a context for students to develop as proficient, independent and inquisitive artists.