Thoughts for Arnold Saper’s Memorial May 30, 2019
My thoughts are with all of you gathered to celebrate the life of Arnold.
It is with heart felt emotion that I remember him as a teacher and friend.
My memory takes me back to the Print room in the old location on the main floor
of what was the University of Manitoba School of Art in 1975.
Here was the smell of the sawdust boxes clean up area , the smell of ink and
solvent. This was the Print Shop with it’s inking tables, presses, and hot plates
The wall of the room was a place where students could tape down
a freshly pulled print, still damp from being soaked…the brown butcher’s tape
would allow the print to dry flat as the paper fibers shrink.
This was a whole universe and a show and tell of images that people were working upon. This was a way for people to trade ideas and get excited about what was going on.
The working tables in rows allowed the student to spread out tools, working
drawings and mirrors. For me it was an exciting place to learn about the great tradition of printmaking to dream about what sort of contribution one could
possibly bring. In 1975 everything seemed possible.
Arnold’s class was magical. He would extrapolate in his soft spoken way, about
processes …the action of nitric acid …biting into lines that were scratched through
a layer of protective ground. Our manipulation of tools and materials was akin to
a gesture of nature. These forces that produce an image, like the wind and rain
carving out landforms and rock formations.
The copper plate is a landscape and the action of acid and aquatint rosin allows the formation of mountain peaks and valleys. This was his very romantic way of presenting the inherit magic of this medium.
Arnold loved drawing and making prints. He transmitted this passion to countless
students and colleagues.
Since moving to Montreal in 1987, I lost contact with Arnold and over the years
only got news through Pat’s famous Christmas letters.
The way that I remember him
is a memory of a kind and generous family man. I remember his piercing blue eyes
…with looks of astonishment, sometimes bewildered.
Then there was his incredible smile and hearty laugh.
So long Arnold I will always remember you.
Allen Hessler, Montreal
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