Pete Borsay

MFA ’21 Printmaking

borsay

Pete Borsay grew up in the American Midwest. His family encouraged an interest in the arts and supported creative expression. Much of his youth was spent drawing, reading, and daydreaming. He’s wanted to be an artist since before he can remember.

Statement
I’m a printmaker who makes dynamic, vibrant, and semi-abstract artwork. My prints express a bizarre subconscious fusion of made-up forms and figures. Some influences include 20th century illustration, abstraction, and surreal compositions. I use a variety of printmaking methods, including screen printing, lithography, relief, digital, and hybrid techniques. Active imagination, experimentation, and novelty are all part of my creative process. When beginning a composition, I make subconscious ‘automatic’ drawings and sketches; some of those sketches and drawings get transferred into digital images, altered, and then used for matrices when printing. The intent is for the viewer to contemplate each element of the print and have a singularly unique experience in its presence.

From Wasteland to Praxis: Uncertainty and Control in the Creative Process

Thesis Abstract

This body of work consists of a collection of prints that represent evidence of the creative process. These art objects are evidence of decisions, alterations, and intentions that reveal my conscious and unconscious progression in achieving goals. Each print was selected and organized for this exhibition while considering how past and present circumstances and the difficulty in communicating ideas have influenced a creative process and the experience of working as an artist. This collection of work validates uncertainty, anxiety, and the desire to accept and challenge precision and perfection through the act of printmaking.

I continuously attempt to understand my purpose for making prints and the process in which I make them throughout my studio practice. Endeavoring to understand the creative process is the basis for the examination of the impulses, intuition, and inspiration that informs the process from conception of ideas to a finalized composition and ultimately, presentation in a gallery. The intent of this research is to reveal the connection between the subconscious and the act of creating a print. The findings of this inquiry validate misconceptions as well as certainties about my creative process.