By Kaitlin Cavey

The Saint Louis Art Museum opened its newest exhibition, “Graphic Revolution: American Prints 1960 to Now,” on Nov. 11 as a broad survey of art by contemporary artists designed by co-curators Elizabeth Wyckoff and Gretchen Wagner over the course of three years.

Wyckoff stated that one purpose of the exhibition is to demonstrate how well SLAM has collected contemporary prints from the 1960s until now. The museum acquired new works in the process of designing the exhibition, including Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds’ multi-part monotype, Sovereign. “Collectively, the works display not only the historical collecting in the St. Louis community, but also the idea that the museum and the community continue collecting into the future,” Wyckoff said.

The exhibition is organized thematically rather than chronologically, allowing for dialogue between generations. It tells a story that is inclusive and broad, examining multi-faceted topics such as cultural, political, and national identity. The show challenges the traditional definition of a print by displaying different formats including printmaking, sculpture, woodcuts, lithographs, screen prints, and etchings.

Wyckoff looks to “Graphic Revolution” to expand viewers’ concept of a print. “Part of the idea of putting the exhibition together is to reveal that a print isn’t simply a flat object on the wall,” she said. The exhibition is on display at SLAM until Feb. 13, 2019.