Mauricio Lasansky
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Mauricio Leib Lasansky (October 12, 1914 – April 2, 2012) was an Argentine artist and educator known both for his advanced techniques in intaglio
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
and for a series of 33 pencil drawings from the 1960s titled "The Nazi Drawings." Lasansky, who migrated to and became a citizen of the United States, established the school of printmaking at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
, which offered the first Master of Fine Arts program in the field in the United States.
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identifies him as one of the fathers of modern printmaking.


Biography

The son of Eastern European Jews, Lasansky was born on 12 October 1914 in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. He studied printmaking and engraving from his Polish father, who had made a living in those fields. He displayed early promise, showing favorably at the Mutulidad Fine Arts Exhibition with an honorable mention at 16 and a prize at 17 for sculpture. He entered the Superior School of Fine Arts in his hometown in 1933 and later met young Argentine Luis Barragán (painter). Three years later, Lasansky began his career as director of the Free Fine Arts School in Villa María, Argentina. Through school and the decade he held this directorship, he exhibited extensively, culminating in a solo retrospective exhibition at the Galleria Muller in Buenos Aires in 1943. Lasansky relocated to New York City in 1943 on the first of five Guggenheim Fellowships and chose to remain in and become a citizen of the United States for political reasons in spite of a lack of financial resources and challenges with the English language. In 1945, he took his first position at the University of Iowa, as a visiting lecturer for graphic arts. Within three years, he would become a full professor and ultimately would establish its school of printmaking, offering the first Master of Fine Arts program in the field in the United States. In the 1960s, ''Time'' magazine dubbed him "the nation's most influential printmaker." He remained with the program until his retirement in 1984, whereafter he continued as a practicing artist. Susan Hale Kemenyffy was among his pupils. Lasansky wed in 1937, bringing his family with him to the United States at the time of his second Guggenheim Fellowship, in 1944.


Work

Lasansky's work in his Argentinian period was primarily drypoint, with additional forays in
etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...
, relief etching and linoleum cut. Lacking exposure to other printmakers, he developed innovative approaches to copper plate printmaking. He dedicated his first several months in the United States to studying the extensive print collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
, experimenting with modern art techniques in his own work at Atelier 17 in New York, absorbing techniques in intaglio and investigating particularly the work of
Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
, who was a major influence. Other influences cited include
El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...
, Goya, Modigliani,
Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
and Stanley William Hayter. He was an innovator in the creation of large metal-plate artwork, sometimes combining more than 50 plates to produce a single image. In addition to his printmaking, Lasansky is known for the series "The Nazi Drawings". Produced between 1961 and 1966, these 33 drawings were inspired by what Lasansky described as the "unleashing of brutality" of the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. The series was first exhibited in the Whitney Museum of Art for its opening in 1967. The drawings, on regular paper with graphite pencil and watercolor washes meant to suggest blood, portrayed the victims and perpetrators of the atrocities of the Holocaust, but also the bystanders, whom Lasansky felt strongly bore a share of responsibility. As of Lasansky's death in 2012, the images were on exhibit at the University of Iowa Museum as a long-term loan.


Honors and recognition

* 1943: Guggenheim Fellowship * 1944: Guggenheim Fellowship * 1945: Guggenheim Fellowship * 1953: Guggenheim Fellowship * 1959:
Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
, Iowa Wesley College * 1963: Guggenheim Fellowship * 1969: Honorary Doctorate, Pacific Lutheran University * 1979: Honorary Doctorate,
Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...
* 1980: Distinguished Teaching of Art Award,
College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understan ...
* 1983: Honorary Award in Arts & Humanities, Commission for the Aging * 1985: Honorary Doctorate, Coe College * 1990: Academician, National Academy of Arts & Design, New York * 1999: Iowa Award, 14th Recipient


References


External links


The Nazi Drawings Online
*
Inside the Image
', documentary biography by the University of Iowa {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasansky, Mauricio 1914 births 2012 deaths American people of Argentine-Jewish descent American printmakers Argentine emigrants to the United States Argentine Jews Argentine people of Polish-Jewish descent Argentine printmakers Artists from Buenos Aires Modern printmakers University of Iowa faculty Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century Argentine Jews 20th-century American Jews Jewish Argentine artists Jewish American artists