John Will – Research for Print Studio With A Press

John Will

John Will

Born in 1939 in Waterloo, Iowa, and went to school at the University of Iowa. John was a printer

fellow at Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, where he spent a year learning lithography and

printing for various artists. Later, he moved to Canada in the early 70’s. He taught all over

Canada, including at the University of Calgary, where he now lives.

His Art

John Will is a painter, printmaker, and performance artist. The majority of Wills' prints are

lithographs; however, he practiced in various print-making practices like etching. His paintings

are typically acrylic on canvas. Although most sites mention that John is a performance artist, I

found little. Information on the specifics of his performance works. Much of John Wills’s work

involves text; however, his work varies in style and subject matter. The goal in his artwork was

to make sense of the human condition in the way he experienced it. He often uses dark humour

in his work, as well as colour.

NORBER HALL - John Will "Greed'L Get You"

Twenty-Third Summer

Twenty Third Summer is a print John Will gifted to the university; because of this, little

information is available about this specific work. My best guess is that this is a lithograph, as this

is the printmaking technique he uses most. This piece is quite different from his other works as it

lacks text, bright colours, and dark humour. This was created in 1962, around the time he was

starting out.