NAU’s Clara M. Lovett Art Museum is showcasing its commitment to cultural representation through “Prints. People. Power.” This exhibit is on display from Sept. 15 through Nov. 27 and features printmaking techniques by artists from across the American Southwest and South America.
The show explores how printmaking serves as a democratic medium to amplify marginalized voices and foster cross-cultural dialogue. Printmaking is an artform that allows artists to produce multiple original works from a single design.
The book “Orozco: His Graphic Work” is on a podium between “The Unemployed” (left) and “The Hanged Men” (right) by José Clemente Orozco during the “Prints. People. Power.” collection at the Clara Lovett Art Museum, Sept. 16. Orozco was a Mexican painter known for murals that depicted the Mexican Revolution, human suffering and the struggles of ordinary people. Jesenia Mackey-Tarango/The Lumberjac
The displayed prints give voice to common struggles and aspirations across diverse communities through themes of labor rights, cultural identity and political resistance.
The exhibition displays work from the museum’s permanent collection featuring artists from Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), Movimiento Artístico del Rio Salado (MARS) and the Arizona Print Group.
The process of printmaking begins with creating an image on a surface known as a matrix. Materials used for the matrix can include metal, wood or stone. Once ink is applied to the matrix, the image is transferred onto paper using a press to produce a print.
Angelina Cruz, a senior majoring in English and minoring in museum studies, assists with exhibit installations and artist research. Cruz works at the museum as a student staff member while continuing the same duties from a previous internship.
Photopolymer etching “No Boundaries” by Janet Towbin hangs in the Clara M. Lovett Art, Sept. 16. Janet Towbin was affiliated with the Arizona Print Group, Artist collective. Athena Roberts/The Lumberjack
The artists featured in the exhibit come from a variety of generations shaped by the social and political issues of their time like harsh labor conditions, migration, poverty and struggle with self-image.
The prints reflect recurring themes of resistance and solidarity that appear across decades.
“Even though these groups all happened at wildly different times, they still resonate with the same tones of messaging,” Cruz said. “It’s kind of like, how does that carry on? Why, maybe, does that carry on?”
MARS artist Frankie Ybarra displayed a print in the east gallery titled “Desert Landscape Maintenance.” The print brings up the intersection of land, labor and environmental justice, depicting two landscapers working on a cactus altered by urban development.
Like Ybarra, artists from TGP share the post-revoltionary idealism of Mexican muralists where art serves the people and reflects the oppressed realities they lived through.
Cruz said engaging with art requires reflection, especially in today’s social and political climate.
“You’re never gonna truly understand what the artist’s true intent was,” she said. “But I think the most important thing is coming up with whatever you think it means, and then kind of reflecting on what else is happening in the world, and how that may connect.”
Ty Miller, senior curator of the museum’s permanent collection, said printmaking’s accessibility and reproducibility make it a uniquely powerful medium for artists from marginalized communities.
Three paintings hang side by side in the Prints. People. Power exhibit at the Clara M. Lovett Art Museum on Sept. 16. Tegan Kelley/The Lumberjack
Miller is also the only full-time staff member working at the museum.
“Prints circulate and invite dialogue, enabling representation and fostering conversations across cultures and experiences,” Miller said. “Printmaking uniquely connects people. Its ability to convey information overtly and subtly to diverse audiences gives it broad reach and impact.
Printmaking’s replicability allows artists to distribute their work beyond a traditional gallery space. The mobility has made printmaking a widely used medium for sharing messages, building awareness and connecting with broader audiences.
As senior curator, Miller oversees strategic planning and said the museum’s role as a teaching institution aligns with NAU’s broader goals of inclusion and academic engagement. The museum aspires to be a bridge between the university and the community for both groups to engage with cultural histories through visual art.
“Students encounter material that expands their academic studies while community members experience artworks that resonate with broader conversations about heritage, identity and place,” Miller said.
As a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), NAU is committed to inclusive education, which is reflected in the museum’s stewardship of Latinx printmaking traditions. Part of the museum’s role includes preserving key artistic movements and making them accessible to students and the community.
“We’re not just a place that has artwork,” Cruz said. “You come here to learn whether it’s about the process, the artists, or how to identify things for your education or career.”
The museum is working to provide more didactic panels to accompany major parts of the gallery, adding social context on how Hispanic communities have been represented in mainstream American society and how it relates back to their own subculture.
The exhibition encourages visitors to think critically about how historical and contemporary issues intersect. This is achieved through prints that depict lived experiences of migration, labor and cultural identity that make the past feel immediate and personal.
“That’s the type of connection we’re always hoping for,” Miller said. “For people to see themselves, their family members and friends in the histories and narratives depicted through the art.”
Lithograph “The Hanged Men” by José Clemente Orozco hangs in the Clara M. Lovett Art, Sept. 16. Orozco created “The Hanged Men” in response to a request from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Athena Roberts/The Lumberjack
Printmaking’s accessibility makes it a uniquely democratic art form, especially in politically charged contexts, Miller said. The medium’s ability to be mass-produced and shared widely allows artists to reach broader audiences and foster community engagement.
“It fosters a sense of community and helps get the word out there in a way that I don’t think any other art form can,” Miller said.
“Prints. People. Power.” is free and open to the public. The exhibit and the museum are located on the second floor of Old Main on North campus. Walk-in visitors are welcome Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.