Leaving an impression

Italian printmaker Mario Teleri Biason's overall demeanor was that of an artist with archetypal artistic flair and mannerisms as he spoke at the opening reception of an exhibit on Italian printmaking Nov. 8 at the IU School of Fine Arts Gallery.\nThe exhibit runs until Nov. 23. \nSpeaking with a heavy accent, Biason talked about the type of materials typically used for printmaking, which ones he preferred and how art brings the "light of knowledge."\nThe exhibit's opening is part of an agreement made between IU Professor Edward Bernstein, co-head of the Printmaking Department of the School of Fine Arts.\nIn 2000 while in Rome, Bernstein and Biason had a conversation where they proposed curating exhibits at each other's galleries. In January 2003, Bernstein will show an already-curated exhibit of eight contemporary American printmakers, selected by Masters of Fine Arts Printmaking students in his Graduate Printmaking Seminar. Il Quadrato di Omega is the gallery founded and run by Biason and Delhove.\nL'Arte della Stampa was funded by grants from the COAS Arts and Humanities Institute, Katherine Barr-Koon Fund from the Department of French and Italian, the School of Fine Arts and Bernstein's Printmaking Department donated money along with the Metals Department.\nThe eight artists chosen by Biason and Delhove range from 26- to 74-years-old and represent a large scope of techniques and ideas.\nOf the six techniques present, Bernstein said most of the prints present are made from two techniques -- etching and relief on wood.\nBernstein said etching is done with primarily copper or zinc as plates. Etched prints are made by covering the plates with wax, then scraping away the bits until it makes an image you want. An artist then covers the image with acid so it creates a trough to hold the ink when pressed against paper, thus making a print.\nThe second method present at the exhibit was relief on wood. The printmaker carves away all the parts of a slab of wood that does not look like the image wanted, then presses plate against paper to make a print.\n"Printmaking was for some time the lesser child of the visual arts, but with the mixing of media and format, this is no longer the case," Bernstein said. "Therefore, in some ways printmaking is really at the cutting edge of contemporary art-making both here and in Europe."\nPrintmaking is involved in so many aspects of art making -- from traditional printmaking techniques to digital imaging and mixed media -- that many people are using printmaking in some way all the time, Bernstein said.\n"Art is not a style," Biason said. "Art is improving on something day by day…I'm upset with art historians because they don't think printmaking is art."\nBernstein, an art historian and self-proclaimed "Italio-phile," said he feels Biason's anger is directed specifically at Italian historians -- not art historians as a whole.\nOn Nov. 12, Biason and Delhove hosted a lecture on "Contemporary Printmaking and Art in Italy."\nThe gallery's hours are Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information call 855-8490.