Favianna Rodriguez, Holly Greenberg, Dusty Herbig,
with nine Syracuse students
Two printmaking professors from the Syracuse College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Art, in collaboration with Bay Area artists and youth groups, used a two-ton steamroller to press seven-foot-long woodcarvings covered with cloth during “Carving Through Borders,” a printmaking event in March 2014 in San Francisco’s Mission District. Focused on the theme of migration, the event was part of the 42nd annual Southern Graphics Council International Conference.
The faculty members, Holly Greenberg and Dusty Herbig, along with six graduate and three undergraduate students, are collaborated with San Francisco artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez to coordinate the event. Rodriguez is founder of Presente.org and CultureStrike, two nonprofit organizations that use various forms of art to educate the public about U.S. immigration policies and to mobilize communities to fight discriminatory immigration laws. Rodriguez, well known for her graphic artworks used in immigration rights campaigns, has chosen 15 artists to create one-of-a-kind designs that will be carved into woodblocks, inked, then printed on muslin cloth using the steamroller.
“The choice of cloth over paper is intentional,” Greenberg says. “It has a durability that allows the prints to be used as banners in political marches and human rights demonstrations across the U.S. Thanks to the sustainability of cloth, the project will endure over years and have exposure beyond the walls of galleries.”