Street roller helps create art during Really Big Prints 3.0 at UW-Manitowoc

Street roller helps create art during Really Big Prints 3.0 at UW-Manitowoc

Manitowoc, Wis. — Printmakers from across the country will travel to the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc campus once again for the Really Big Prints 3.0 event July 11-14. The artists create limited edition relief prints so large they require an unusual item — a street roller — to transfer the ink to the papers. This is the third time the campus has hosted this event held every two years.

The public is invited to view the artists at work 9 a.m.-7 p.m. each day in the UW-Manitowoc parking lot, 705 Viebahn St., Manitowoc. New this year will be the opportunity for community members to watch the artists and purchase lunch on-site. Proceeds from the food sales will benefit UW-Manitowoc student activities.

Relief printing is the process of rolling ink onto a block where recessed areas have been created and are ink free. The inked surface is brought into firm contact with the paper to create the print. At this event, blocks as large as 32” x 60” will be used by the printmakers. A street roller on loan from the city of Manitowoc will be used to transfer the ink to the paper. Working individually or as a team, the artists have a five-hour time slot to print their piece.

“In addition to the relaxed atmosphere, this event is unique in that unlike other street roller events, each artist or team has the time to print an edition of their prints, and the work goes directly into a museum show,” said Berel Lutsky, art professor at UW-Manitowoc and one of the event organizers.

The pieces created during Really Big Prints will be featured at the Rahr-West Museum of Art in Manitowoc from July 22-Sept. 16, with a closing reception 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16. After that exhibit, the prints move to the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum and then other venues.

Really Big Prints is a collaboration between art professors at three colleges and universities. It is planned and organized by Lutsky; Katie Ries, assistant professor of art at St. Norbert College and Benjamin D. Rinehart, associate professor of art at Lawrence University Wriston Art Center.

The event is held with the support and cooperation of the Rahr West Museum of Art, the city of Manitowoc and the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. Ink for this event was donated by Graphic Chemical & Ink of Villa Park, Illinois.

A celebration event and an opportunity for potential print collectors to meet the printmakers is planned for 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 13 at UW-Manitowoc. The fee for guests is $25 per person and advance reservations are required by emailing Ben Rinehart at rineharb@lawrence.edu.

Previously held during 2014 and 2016, the Really Big Prints team received the UW Colleges Chancellor’s Friends and Advocates Award in 2017.

For more information, visit www.uwmanitowoc.uwc.edu.

For release: June 18, 2018

Contact: Laurie Krasin
Regional Director of Communications, UW-Manitowoc
laurie.krasin@uwc.edu
(920) 929-1108

Berel Lutsky
UW-Manitowoc Art Professor
berel.lutsky@uwc.edu
(920) 683-4710

After July 1, additional contact:
Sue Bodilly, Director of Content and Media Relations, UW-Green Bay
bodillys@uwgb.edu
(920) 465-5502

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