Festival showcases ‘print missionaries’ and art departrment

Joseph Velasquez and Greg Nanney been called "print missionaries" by some New York City publishers because the pair — who both received an M.F.A. in art from the University of Wisconsin–Madison last May — travels the country bringing artwork to both schoolchildren and adults with a printing press rigged to the back of a pick-up truck.

"We’re taking an aspect of printmaking out of the dungeon where they usually keep it and bringing it to the masses," says Velasquez. "It caught on like wildfire."

Velasquez and Nanney recently started a new tour of their Drive-By Press, but are rolling back into Madison at the invitation of Tandem Press, the fine-art printmaking studio affiliated with the UW–Madison art department, for the campus-wide Arts Night Out! on Saturday, October 13.

Now in its fifth year, the annual arts festival will feature demonstrations, activities, lessons, art exhibits, and film, dance, and theatre performances by faculty, staff and students across campus. For example, visitors can learn how stage actors train for fight and battle scenes, learn ballroom dancing, and attend a School of Music multimedia concert featuring 40 musicians.

Arts Night Out! is sponsored by campus arts departments and organizations, Visitor & Information Programs, and the UW–Madison Arts Institute. All events are free and open to the public.

In addition to Drive-By Press, the art department will host a variety of activities, most running from 4 to 7 p.m., in and around the Humanities Building. The department is located on the 6th and 7th floors of Humanities and may be reached by elevator or stairs from the entrance near the Chazen Museum marked ART. Signs will be posted to assist in locating events, activities, and displays of student and faculty artwork, including:

• Reception for the show of selected works by Bachelor of Fine Arts degree candidates, 7th Floor Gallery, 5-8 p.m. This is the first big show for some of the art department’s top undergraduates.
• Family-friendly workshops. In Room 7551 with Assistant Professor Kim Cridler, visitors of all ages can create small cast pewter pendants of their own design. In Room 6111, children ages 5-12 can work with art education students and faculty on a fun art project.
• Fresh Hot Press, Humanities Building terrace. Members of the student-run Print Club, advised by Associate Professor John Hitchcock, will be printing designs chosen by visitors on T-shirts, canvas bags, or other articles of clothing that they bring. Shirts and prints will be available for those who don’t bring their own. Prints by student and visiting artists will be available for use.
• Ceramics demonstrations in Room 7731 by Assistant Professor Paul Sacaridiz and his students.
• Large-scale outdoor projections, third level of the Humanities Building, of dance films by Associate Professor Douglas Rosenberg shot in high definition in rural Wisconsin.

Velasquez will describe the history and practice of printmaking at 3 p.m. in Room 140 of the Chazen Museum of Art and give a demonstration of the printmaking process at 4 p.m. outside the Humanities Building. Participants will be able to create their own prints from a variety of originals.

Velasquez and Nanney created Drive-By Press nearly two years ago as part of their thesis project for their master’s in fine arts degrees. The pair took out additional student loans to buy the press and the equipment they needed to install it in the back of a truck, but receive donations from artists, publishers, and schools.

The pair gives talks and demonstrations in schools around the country, exhibits prints by contemporary artists, and shows how to make print from originals, "so they get to walk away with something," Velasquez says.

"I enjoy their reactions – how people become aware of (printmaking) and seeing their excitement and enthusiasm," he says.

For more information about Arts Night Out! and a schedule of events, call (608) 263-2400 or stop by the Campus Information Center in the Red Gym on Langdon Street or the Welcome Center at 21 N. Park St.