​Star Wars comes to Fargo—Sean Star Wars

Sean "STAR WARS" Stewart, the Mississippi based outlaw printmaker, woodcut artist extraordinaire and Mountain Dew connoisseur is making his debut in Fargo Moorhead as part of the NDSU Visual Arts/ PEARS Visiting Artist Series in conjunction with the "PRINTOBER" events hosted by the Plains Art Museum.

The High Plains Reader had the opportunity to chat with Sean Star Wars between classroom visits throughout the area and various printmaking demonstrations at NDSU and the Plains Art Museum.

HPR: What initially drew you to the printmaking medium--particularly woodcuts?

Sean Star Wars Stewart: Back in the 80s I pretty much lived and breathed skateboarding. There were two or three skaters that made their own board graphics. Guys like John Grigley, Neil Blender, Chris Miller, and John Lucero. As a teenager I really felt compelled to be as much like those guys as I could so I started to draw because they did.

Chris Miller actually made linocuts for some of his graphics and even though I didn’t know what printmaking was at the time, I knew that I loved the way his graphics looked. When I was in college searching for a purpose and a major, I found myself in the art building and saw a course description for printmaking that included learning how to make linocuts. When I saw that word, I knew I had to take the class to figure out what a linocut was.

HPR: How long does it take you to make a block--what kind of tools and wood do you use?

SS: I work faster than most other printmakers . Give me an idea and a block of wood, I'll have a decent woodcut knocked out for you in about four hours. One time I made 24 woodcuts in 24 hours. It was something I wanted to do when I was a visiting artist at Oklahoma University. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.

I like to use Russian Birch Plywood and sharp chisels made of the finest Japanese steel. but sometimes I'll use a random piece of wood I find in the trash and carve it out using a butter knife--I’m not particular.

HPR: How did you become one of the Outlaws of Printmaking--and can you tell us about the Outlaws of printmaking?

SS: That’s something that the legendary Tony Fitzpatrick came up with when talking to Tom Huck--It's Huck’s thing. Many people consider him the greatest woodcut artist since Durer. He has been a major influence on me and a friend since halfway through grad school.

At some point about 15 years ago he established the parameters of the group. It’s mostly people that have been making images that college kids want to see and college professors don't want them to make. I think that all of the Outlaws have taught at the college level and most of us are now outside of the halls of academia. Printmaking in college print shops has changed a lot over the last twenty years. I think that most professors would acknowledge our role in that. I think students feel more free to make whatever the hell they actually want to make now, and less compelled to experiment for the sake of the mystical and mythical quest for knowledge. I know that I like to look at student work a lot more now than I did twenty years ago.

HPR: How many artist visits do you do in a year--and where have you gone?

SS: I try to do 6 to 12 visits a year. My favorite visits are the long trips by car with a loose schedule. That way I can bring my whole family out with me and we have a ton of fun along the way.

I love any visit where the students feel comfortable enough to get their hands dirty with me and we can have fun. I treat the whole process of printmaking as a good time and like to keep it casual. I frequently hear from students about how demanding and intimidating other visiting artists can be. It turns some students off of printmaking in general.

I want everyone to have a good time and love printmaking, to get everything they can from it. It has really been a major factor in my life--I want them to see how much it can do for you if you embrace it. I especially enjoy making a visit to a school that I applied to for a job and didn’t get--I love it when I hear after the fact what a great time the students had, and how enthusiastic they are through the remainder of the year. I also love it when a school has me back for a repeat visit. Then I know they got a lot out of my time with them!

HPR: How did you gain the moniker Sean Star Wars?

SS: It's a family name. My great grandfather Jebediah Star Wars fought in the Spanish American War. Actually It just came from being a smart ass Star Wars collector. I would get indignant at antique stores and flea markets when I would ask people if they had anything Star Wars-related and they’d say yes--saunter off to the back and then come back to dash my hopes holding a pair of Spock ears or something equally lame.

I would invariably tell them what I thought of their feeble attempt to placate me , and tell them to call me when they had something worth buying and to ask for Sean Star Wars! After a few years it kind of stuck and then I started to make art. Sean Star Wars is much more fun to say than my real name Sean Starghwaughrt.

IF YOU GO:

Sean Star Wars artist lecture

Thursday October 27, 7pm

Plains Art Museum, 704 1st Ave N, Fargo

http://www.seanstarwars.com/