The College’s 97th Annual Exhibition opened at the Maier Museum of Art January 20 and will run through April 13, 2008. This year’s exhibit showcases prints from Tandem Press. The self-supporting printmaking studio is affiliated with the Department of Art in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tandem Press was established in 1987 by artist and printmaking professor Bill Weege to foster research, collaboration, experimentation, and innovation in the field of printmaking. Nationally known artists come to Tandem Press to be inspired to create images brought to fruition technically by master printers. At Tandem, guest artists conceptualize and define their imagery while  master printers work in tandem with the artist to give form to their concept. The master printers are experts in their craft and wise to the idiosyncrasies of the complex and often unforgiving printmaking media.

This collaboration is made richer with the participation of UW graduate students working toward their MFA degree. The students are invited to work side-by-side with visiting artists and the master printers in creating editions of the prints. In this collaborative process artists, printers, and students all learn from one another. Tandem’s educational goal is similar to that of many Randolph students. For example, at the Maier, students do not merely study what they might do as future curators, they actually catalog and accession artwork and curate unique exhibitions.