Infinite Images: Technologies of Printmaking and Beyond

This show represents a web of collaboration among a number of departments and scholars at Union, including the Mandeville Gallery, the Union College Permanent Collection, the Visual Arts Department, and the Special Collections of Schaffer Library.  The show is co-curated by Rachel Seligman, Mandeville Gallery Director / Curator of the Permanent Collection,  Professor David Ogawa of the Department of Visual Arts, and Stephanie Berlind ‘09, for whom it is a Sophomore Research Project.  Hands-on investigation and research into the artists, provenance, history, and techniques of the prints housed in the College Collections resulted in new texts and lectures by the curators, illustrating one of the many ways in which the Gallery can serve as a scholarly nexus for both faculty and students. Creating an exhibition around works in the Union College Permanent Collection and the Special Collections of Schaffer Library furthers the mission of those two departments to serve as a teaching resource for student and faculty scholars, and as a cultural resource for the campus and regional communities.

At the core of the Union College print collection are the Burns Collection and the Ackerman Foundation Collection, two groups of modern prints full of significant works by internationally known American and European artists, among them Josef Albers, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, Lee Krasner, and Edward Ruscha.  These works form the foundation upon which a first-class collection can flourish and grow.  Infinite Images highlights these treasures in the College Collections and emphasizes the need to preserve and maintain their condition, expand the Collection further, and most importantly, develop rich, meaningful programming around them.  In this way we will enhance the education of our students and broaden our understanding of the art.  These prints, and all of the work in the College’s collections, are rich in opportunities for research and curatorial projects for faculty and students.

This exhibition was curated by David Ogawa, Department of Visual Arts; Rachel Seligman, Director, Mandeville Gallery and Curator, Union College Permanent Collection; Stephanie Berlind ’09; with assistance from Ellen Fladger, Head of Special Collections, Schaffer Library