Printmakers have always enjoyed being at the cusp of technology. Soon after the creation of the printing press, artists recognized the inherent artistic and communicative opportunities of creating "multiple originals". Throughout the history of the populist medium, artist’s use of relief, intaglio, lithography and silkscreen grew in response to the creative endeavors of the commercial world. In return, the artists themselves contributed to our understanding of the print processes and their potential.

The community of printmakers and print workshops around the world offer a range in approach and thought. Beyond issues of reproduction, artists explore the dynamics of drawing, painting and photography within the discipline. Because of the communal aspect of sharing equipment and working alongside others, the exchange of ideas on form and content is open between printmakers. As a result, there exists a long standing history of print collaborations and exchange portfolios.

With the creation of the Internet, communications in the fine arts has improved dramatically (as in so many other fields). We can now share images instantly over distances previously formidable. Virtual galleries provide common experiences of artistic and technological developments in the discipline as well as exposure to diverse forms of expression. The potential for supporting existent communities and building new communities through the exchange of information is considerable. Opportunities for artistic collaboration are greater than at any time and we are ready to explore our options in this regard more fully.

The computer printer is the latest development in the history of printmaking. The 2001 Brooklyn Museum of Art National Print Biennial focuses on artists using digital technology in their work. Indeed, the use of computers for printmaking has increased proportionately to their use in society as a whole. As evident in the Brooklyn exhibition, printmakers recognize the opportunity of technology to expand their discipline. The structure of programs such as Photoshop emulate the printing process (dividing into layers, color channels, pixels as elements of the image, etc.) In fact, the development of an image is very similar to the sometimes analytical proofing process in the creation of artist’s prints.

We are at a point of time where the role of "antiquarian" processes is questioned in relation to the universal impact of computers and new technologies. Traditional printmakers are confronted with challenges in the use of digital technology. Can the computer equal the impact of an image crafted by hand? What advances in the output of digital images can address the tactile relationship of ink and paper integral to the discipline?

The project allowed us to transform two traditional printmaking courses through the increased use of digital technologies. These courses involved both majors and non-majors. Together, Denison’s Printmaking I: Intaglio ( ART 131) and Kenyon’s Printmaking: Silkscreen (ARTS 240) incorporated digital techniques as a stimulus for conceptual development and artistic collaboration. Students in these two courses developed images in their respective mediums and locations. Subsequently, they collaborated with students in the other class through mostly virtual means (electronic transfer of ideas and images), eventually creating this virtual gallery of collaborative images and a physical art exhibition at Denison’s John W. Alford Center for Service Learning’s NewArt Gallery in Newark, Ohio and the Horn Gallery at Kenyon College in the Spring of 2001. Students focused on the contrast between the virtual image and the printed image. As printmakers we find great meaning in the physicality of the printed image. Therefore, we see digital media as a tool, but not an end in itself. It is critical that our students experienced the union of virtual technology and physical object making. Hence the importance of output in printed terms. The exhibition in Newark is in conjunction with the gallery and community print shop Ron Abram has established with students through a service learning development grant. The Horn Gallery is part of a recently rebuilt student cultural center at Kenyon College. It is our hope that the exhibitions demonstrated the creative possibilities of technology and continued the artistic goals of the partnership between Denison and East Newark, and with the Kenyon/Gambier community as well.

Ron Abram, Denison University

Claudia Esslinger, Kenyon College