Printmaking Revered: 40 Years of Prints from the Collections of Robert Miller

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.

The exhibit opens today and runs through August 16, 2014.   An opening reception from 5 - 7 tonight, June 6, is free and open to the public.  

Robin Scully Boucher-Curator