Recently I have been mourning the demise of printmaking, an art that was my original major. When I was looking around for a master’s program, it seemed as if all the printmaking programs, save photography (let’s not argue about whether photography belongs in this category), were downsizing. “Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California,” which opened 1 October 2011 at the Norton Simon and runs until 2 April 2012, shows what an incredibly creative place Southern California was in the 1960s.

My original major was intaglio etching–not the most practical of majors because you needed vats of acid, a lot of smelling concoctions to clean up or act as resists, and a very expensive heavy printing press. I received my degree at UC Santa Barbara and when I moved to Pasadena, I was surprised to find that Pasadena City College had a printmaking department. It was a small, with three classes contained in one room, but it was also my entry into community college life.

According the exhibit, the rise of printmaking began with the founding of Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles in 1960. The stated goal of the workshop was to create a pool of artisan printers to revive fine art lithography. Lithography had originally been a form of recording scenes, specimens of interest such as birds and flowers, and commercial advertising such as posters, flyers, brochures and pamphlets. The development of photography began to take over commercial advertising.

The movement began with a woman–June Wayne, who was based in Los Angeles.

So vital was Tamarind, that world-renowned painters and sculptors came to Los Angeles to learn lithography. Twenty of each edition would go to the artist and nine were left with Tamarind. That meant that Tamarind had a complete set of every work produced that could be presented to nine public institutions. The Norton Simon has a near-complete set and this exhibit features nearly 70 of these works from artists such as John Altoon, Billy Al Bengston, Vija Celmins, Bruce Conner, Richard Diebenkorn, Sam Francis, David Hockney, Ed Moses, Lee Mullican, Louise Nevelson, Ed Ruscha, and Norman Zammitt, to June Wayne.

Tamarind not only helped spread lithography as an artistic medium, but also helped other methods of printmaking such as woodblock and etching. The image that most impressed me wasn’t a work of art, but a diagram showing how and where the artists spread the different methods of printmaking and includes all the major educational institutes in the Southern California area–including Pasadena City College. I wish the Norton Simon had included this on their website or in the press images. According to that diagram Leonard Edmundson from Cal State LA brought printmaking to Pasadena City College. Ynez Johnson brought printmaking to the Pasadena Art Museum.  Wish I could know more about them.

Even if you’re not interested in printmaking, this exhibit is interesting in that it shows the power of one determined person, how women were influential in art, and the far-reaching influence of the West Coast on the art world. For native Californians, this exhibit should provide plenty of ammunition the next time some snobby East Coaster or European sniffs at the thought of the West Coast having culture. We have culture and this along with other exhibits of “Pacific Standard Time” shows different aspects of our culture.

• Making Impressions with Shapes and Words 
• Sunday, October 30, 12:30–1:45 p.m. and 2:00–3:15 p.m. 

During the 1960s, artists in Southern California used printing techniques that left lasting impressions in the fine-art world. Join art educator Carlos Ramirez in exploring the relationship between words and the visual arts. Taking inspiration from prints in the exhibition “Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California,” students create original works of art by using word association to construct narratives of their own. Tell your story using images, sounds and words. The workshop is free and limited to 20 students per session, ages 8– 13. Advance registration is required and can be made at nortonsimon.org/family-children.

• Art-Making Workshop: Pronto Plate Printmaking  
• Sunday, November 13, 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. 

Linda Lyke, Professor of Art at Occidental College, leads a workshop in Pronto plate lithography, a recently developed process that involves a nontoxic form of lithography printing. Participants meet at the Museum for a tour of “Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California” and then drive themselves to Occidental College (three miles away) to use the printmaking lab. Bring a drawing, photo or found image to use in the imaging of the Pronto plate, and then learn how to ink and print the plate to produce a lithograph. The fee of $30 ($24 for members) includes all materials and admission to the galleries on the day of class. Advance registration is required and can be made at nortonsimon.org/education/adults.

• Tamarind Lithography Workshop 
• Sunday, November 13, 2:00–3:00 p.m. 

Discuss the renaissance and revival of the medium of fine-art lithography by Tamarind Lithography Workshop, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1960. Examine such works as June Wayne’s “The Bride,” 1951; Claire Falkenstein’s “The Moving Point,” 1965; Louise Nevelson’s “Untitled,” 1967; and Charles White’s “Wanted Poster Series #11,” 1970.

• Artists as Printmakers 
• Sunday, December 11, 2:00–3:00 p.m. 

From Edgar Degas to Ed Ruscha, artists have used the print not just as a vehicle for reproduction but also as a means of expression. Consider the distinct types of images and concepts portrayed by joining message and medium in the following artworks: Edgar Degas’s “Woman Drying Herself after the Bath,” 1876–77; Sam Francis’s “An 8 Set – 3” from the “Pasadena Box,” 1963; and Ed Ruscha’s “Anchovy,” 1969.