Women in printmaking

Katelyn Allen presents printmaking collection, “Women Who Impress: Women Printmakers”

Nicole Kuhn | Arts & Culture | USD Vista

Senior Katelyn Allen explores feminism through the arts in her exhibit “Women Who Impress: Women Printmakers.” She explained hat printmaking is the art or technique of producing an image through the process of printing.

“‘Women Who Impress: Women Printmakers’ from USD’s collection is the product of my involvement in a year-long research fellowship,” Allen said. “As a 2017-2018 Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellow for USD, I had the opportunity to spend a year researching a scholarly topic that I found intriguing. As an art history major, I am particularly interested in the intersection between art and gender studies. I am also very interested in the medium of printmaking, and so with this project, I decided to combine my two passions by researching women printmakers from USD’s collection of prints and drawings.”

Allen, who has been on a year-long journey working on the exhibit, began her research in early 2017 for the university as a Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellow, which is a research program set up for students to explore scholarly activities and creative work.

This year she is featuring her very own exhibit which is located in the Humanities Center in Serra Hall. Her work for the exhibit explores three main themes which Allen explained in further detail.

“The aims of the exhibition were to pay homage to women printmakers and the significant contributions they have made to the history of the graphic arts, to celebrate how far we’ve come in cultivating a strong and diverse collection of works by women printmakers, and to inspire new directions for future acquisitions here at USD,” Allen said.

In Allen’s exhibition brochure she expanded the story behind her work.

“‘Women Who Impress’ is a story, one that seeks to embellish the admittedly short history of collecting work by women printmakers at USD,” Allen said. “While the collection started small, it has grown exponentially in the last few years, thanks primarily to the generous support of donors and an over arching strategy on the part of those who have endeavored to diversify the collection specifically by seeking more work by women printmakers.”

The exhibit ultimately shows feminism in the world of art through its display of artwork. Allen said that the once male-dominated world of printmaking has made progress for women with how they are now able to fully participate in the graphic arts.

“‘Women Who Impress’ is thus intended to offset some of the lack of recognition that women printmakers have received throughout art history by creating a space for their voices to be heard and for their achievements to shine,” Allen said.

She explained that her dedication to art began at a young age.

“I’ve been passionate about art for as long as I can remember,” Allen said. “Growing up, I always looked forward to trips I would take with my mom to different museums. However, it was not until my senior year of high school, when I took my first art history course, that I became really passionate about art history and the possibilities of leading a career as a museum curator.”

Allen considers herself more as an artist historian —someone looking at the history and development of visual and material culture — than an artist. Growing up her passion was looking at colorful and dynamic works of art that inspired her to create the exhibit.

“I was a big fan of Henri Matisse’s work, as well as the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Gustav Klimt, for the very reason that they were brimming with color and texture,” Allen said. “This gave their work a sort of dynamism and sensuousness, and looking back I think I tried to capture this same feeling with ‘Women Who Impress.’ Walking in, one is initially struck by the work of Sybil Andrews, June Wayne, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. While each work tells a unique story and is dynamic and engaging in its own way, together they exude a special liveliness.”

Allen said creating the energy around this exhibit was important to her because she wanted viewers to walk away feeling impacted by the work.

“I wanted the community to feel that they had witnessed something extraordinary and powerful ­­— that is, the coming together of women’s voices, many of which have been silenced or absent throughout much of art history,” Allen said. “By creating a space to celebrate the lives and achievements of women printmakers, I hoped that I could lend their stories greater importance within the USD community.”

Allen stated she received positive feedback from the community regarding her exhibit.

“Whether or not the project was a success, and I believe it is, I think USD is just really excited to see students engaged in research that they feel so passionate about,” Allen said. “What I’ve learned makes for a successful project is the enthusiasm and energy one has to continue to grow and reconsider their own ideas and beliefs. We all fail. We all make mistakes, but in the end, all that we can do is try and learn from our mistakes so that we can transform them into future successes.”

After graduation, Allen plans on taking a gap year and will apply to graduate programs to continue her education in art history. Allen’s exhibit will stay open until April.