Documentary Screening: Midwest Matrix

Swing by your museum for an afternoon of printmaking and film. First, do some hands-on learning about various experimental printmaking techniques by creating your own personalized bingo card, then use the card as you watch Midwest Matrix to track key words and connections to Sam Gilliam: Printmaker, the inspiration for the program. Midwest Matrix tells the story of post-WWII collegiate programs in the Midwest and the influence their members and visiting artists, including Gilliam, had on the growth of printmaking and abstraction. After the screening, redeem your completed bingo card at the Welcome Desk for a special prize.  Popcorn and beverage packages available for purchase. Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. Free with membership, SC residency, or admission. Join today!

And on July 24, join us and the director of Midwest Matrix, Susan Goldman, for a screening of her recent project Black Printmakers of Washington, DC followed by a talkback.  

Midwest Matrix preserves and disseminates an oral history of the fine art printmaking in the Midwest after 1945. Midwest Matrix is a substantive study of post-WWII printmaking that documents the synergy among Midwest universities, workshops, and their participants. Many of these artists, who are now in their 80s and 90s, were able to continue their education through the passing of the GI Bill. This project allows these artists, many of whom have never before been filmed, to provide accounts of their experiences, training, involvement with the development of print departments and studios, art, and encounters with students. The institutions supporting these artists’ workshops had a significant impact on art education with their creation of a Master of Fine Arts degree that included a printmaking specialization. Midwestern ateliers contributed fundamentally to change the course in American printmaking and American art. Midwest Matrix bridges the existing generational gap between the founders of American printmaking, young artists, and students.