Robert Miller has been at the center of the Blacksburg art scene
since 1974 when he opened Block Prints Gallery not far from his current
business, Miller off Main Street Gallery, located on Wilson Avenue in downtown
Blacksburg. Robert studied architecture
at Virginia Tech and then continued his explorations of form and design through
the Block Prints studio and gallery space both as a co-director, and
printmaker. At Block Prints, young
artists gathered to pull prints and then display their work at the cooperative
that only charged $25.00 per month to be a member. Their work paralleled the printmaking revival
occurring throughout the nation, where a push to protect the craft and make it
known was happening in many high art centers around the country.
Handmade fine art prints, although created in multiples, are
original works of art. An artist will
create a plate which can be made from zinc, linoleum, wood, stone or other
materials. The plate bears an image that
the artist drew or designed. After the
plate is created it is inked and then run through a printing press with paper. The mirror image transfers to the paper,
leaving a copy of the original image behind.
Each print is a little different, thus, although multiples, a handmade
print is considered an original work of art. You will notice that most of the
works in this exhibit are numbered, titled, and signed by the artist in pencil
at the bottom of the print. The number
is written as a fraction with the bottom number indicating the total number of
prints made, and the top number indicating in which order the print was created.
Fine art prints allow artists to create work that is less
expensive, and therefore more accessible.
Because it involved the “artist’s hand” a print still maintains its
originality and uniqueness. Even though others
may own a similar copy, no two hand pulled prints are exactly the alike. Fine
art prints differ from mass produced prints in this manner.
With the advent of digital technology, traditional printmaking studios
began to diminish. Teaching the
processes of etching, lithograph, woodcut, and silkscreen were falling out of
favor in universities and art schools where computer labs were replacing
printmaking studios. Digital printing
allows artists vast options in manipulating imagery, allowing them instant
access to their vision. Current digital
fine art prints are exhibited in this show, by Sarah Miller, Robert’s daughter.
As all things old become new again, many young artists and
students of art have begun to explore the traditional printmaking techniques
displayed in this exhibit. A
mini-revival of printmaking is showing up in ateliers across the country. Perhaps this exhibit too will inspire artists
and craftsman to try their hand at making original fine art prints, assuring
the knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next to be assimilated
into the new.
Robin Scully Boucher-Curator
