The Graham Arader III Award

Graham Arader III, a long-standing and generous patron of Franklin College, is sponsoring two $500 awards in writing on prints.  Over the past years, Mr. Arader has donated the beautiful floral prints found in the North Campus conference room and the fascinating maps that adorn President Erik Nielsen’s office and the Kaletsch Campus conference room.   These treasures not only embellish our environment; they are also captivating objects to study from a variety of perspectives.  The awards will raise both the awareness and understanding of the prints on campus and the winners’ profiles.

Many great artists were and continue to be printmakers, working in a variety of techniques, such as woodcutting, engraving, etching, and lithography.  Printmaking served as a means to make reproductions of paintings before photography but it quickly also became an independent art with a distinct aesthetics.  From the eighteenth century onwards, prints were sought after by connoisseurs, completing their collections of paintings and sculptures.  To this day, auction houses hold independent sales on prints (and drawings), demonstrating the importance of the medium.

The Graham Arader III Award competition will accept papers on any subject pertaining to printmaking and the actual prints in the FC collection; possible topics include the history of printmaking, its techniques, or the specific aesthetics involved in their reception.  Papers should not exceed 500 words and must be submitted by the last day of class of the Spring 2010 semester (May 7).  The winners will be announced during the graduation ceremonies.

If you are interested in submitting a paper for the competition or would like more information about the awards, please contact Professor Johanna Fassl via email or by stopping by her office (jfassl@fc.edu , office: North Campus Academic Building, Number 14).