Mary Manusos thought she would be a civil engineer.
She was young and unsure of where she wanted life to take her, but she knew she could draw and had a mind adept at math. So she declared a major in civil engineering, which led her to technical drawing classes. It was there she realized her passion that would later become a career filled with travel, teaching and lots of printmaking.
Printmaking is the art form of creating original works, usually on paper, but also on other surfaces like woodblock, fabric or plastic. The images can be drawn upon or carved into the materials, and depending on the technique used, it can be easily reproduced.
Now Manusos, a professor emeritus of art, has taught at Ohio University for more than 40 years. She has exhibited her work in more than 250 exhibits, both in the United States and abroad, and this month will showcase her art in Trisolini Gallery in Baker Center.
Manusos calls her exhibit “States of Being.” She said they reflect her current thoughts and feelings about the politics and culture she is experiencing. She expresses them through images of mostly colonial architecture she has seen during her travels to Latin America and American tree blossoms.
“Everything is in a state of becoming, so to speak,” she said. “It just cycles through and I just like to decide which moment I want to get trapped into when I’m making (the prints).”
Manusos is a seasoned printmaker who prides herself on making her own paper. From that first layer that she pours with her own hands, she adds more of what she describes as “layers of information” to eventually create a final product. The images build with the layers of paint and etchings, and she finds that visible construction to be one of the things she loves most about printmaking.
“I could actually engineer an image,” she said. “You start with the footers and you go on up, and what you do at the beginning is still there. All the layers of information that you put down are still visible and make part of the whole of what you end up with.”
With the development of 21st century technology came developments in printmaking as well. Printmakers now have more options for creating, whether it be digitally or simply easier options for the reproduction of images, according to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Terry Davis, a graduate student studying printmaking, said in addition to new technologies, a revival of old ones has contributed to a spike in popularity in the dated art form.
He said old letterpresses, forgotten about by many because of the amount of labor needed to operate them, used to be the only machines available for printing. Now, 21st century artists have discovered they can purchase these machines, which still operate well, for a low price and produce new, creative designs.
“They started making handmade prints again,” he said. “Like woodcut band posters. There’s a huge underground rock scene that thrives off these posters and this artwork created by these (people).”
Sam Smith, a graduate student studying printmaking, prefers to use more modern techniques for her art. She creates mostly screen prints, like those used to make graphic T-shirts, and lithographs. Lithography involves drawing on top of surfaces like metal plates or limestones rather than cutting into them. Her images are representational drawings of figures and animals warped ever so slightly to give them a surreal, supernatural element.
She said one of the things that was most attractive to her about printmaking is its potential for reproduction.
“Instead of just have one of (my) drawings, I can have 75,” she said. “And I can sell them. That is very enticing to me as a grad student.”
Printmaking can be a lengthy process or a result of instantaneous reproduction. It has evolved with the years and technology of the time and continues to grow as a means of expression.
Manusos said her favorite thing about printmaking is something that seems to transcend the differences between its different forms.
“I like printmaking because it allows you to be thoughtful,” she said.
