After Cather Professor Karen Kunc's retirement this year, the School of Art, Art History & Design is pleased to welcome Perry Obee as our one-year replacement faculty in Printmaking! Please read the following message from Perry to our community:
"Greetings UNL Art Students!
I was recently hired to teach printmaking for the '20-'21 school year, and I'm excited to get started! I wanted to tell you a little about myself, and to give you an idea of what new and exciting things will be going on in the print studios this year.
First of all, I love printmaking and want to share that with all of you. I think of printmakers as Artists first and foremost. No matter what you consider your media of choice (whether painter, sculpture, ceramicist, etc) the ability to explore and make work in printmaking I believe makes for a more well rounded artist. Printmaking to me is about creative problem solving and the ability to be forward thinking. In printmaking, we dissect work in a different way which means we have to think differently and use our creativity differently. Printmaking is attractive to me because it is technical, scientific, and methodical, while at the same time experimental, aesthetically beautiful, surprising, and magical! There is nothing quite like pulling that print off the plate after it's gone through the press. No matter how many times I've done it, there is still a strong sense of mystery and enchantment. There is an ancient magic to what we do as printmakers, and I hope to be able to share that with you in the next school year.
A little about my background: I will be coming to you from Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I apprenticed to become a Master Printer in collaborative printmaking. At Tamarind, I have been working in the professional printshop where we collaborate with professional artists to create original works in fine art lithography. Some of the artist's I had the privilege to create work with are: Mark Dion (http://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/artists/mark-dion/series), Laylah Ali (https://art21.org/artist/laylah-ali/), Dani Orchard (http://danielleorchard.com), and Noel Anderson (http://www.zidoun-bossuyt.com/artist-anderson-noel.htm).
Prior to working at Tamarind, I operated my own printshop in Asheville, North Carolina, where I collaborated with artists, and taught workshops and private classes; and prior to that, I worked at two professional shops in Connecticut: The Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, and Milestone Graphics in Bridgeport. If you have any interest in this side of the printmaking world I will have plenty to share with you and I'm excited to bring these experiences to the studios at UNL.
In addition to the professional, collaborative side of my background, I am also a practicing artist working in printmaking, drawing, and painting. You can check out some of my work on my website here: http://www.perryobee.com
Finally, I wanted to share with you how excited I am to be teaching and collaborating with you. I have lots of ideas to bring collaboration into the curriculum, and hope to bring professional artists (like those I listed above) to visit UNL and give you the opportunity to collaborate with them to create brand new work. I will also be bringing my professional experience to revamping the layout and structure of the curriculum and studios, and will include you all in the process.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have, and I greatly look forward to working with you all in the coming school year!
Cheers!
Perry Obee"