Artwork copyright Donald Bunse. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Artwork copyright Donald Bunse. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission.

Autobiography A La Carte, 1978

Donald Bunse
(American, born 1934, died 1994)

Location: Pioneer Elementary School, Shelton

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Autobiography A La Carte is a collagraph print by Donald Bunse. It is a self-portrait of Bunse, who helped develop the printmaking technique of collagraphy. The title also includes the pun of "a la carte" meaning "to go" in French, while it shows an image of an actual cart holding printmaking and other art supplies.

In collagraphic printmaking, various materials and elements are collaged onto a printing plate. This process creates a variety of textures and forms in the print.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Department of Corrections and Pioneer School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Artist Donald Bunse (1934-1994) helped develop the collagraph method of printmaking while a student of professor Glen Alps at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Born in Flaxville, Montana, Bunse was raised in California and Oregon. He studied at Willamette University in Oregon and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. He served as curator for the University of Washington's Henry Art Gallery from 1961 to 1963. He taught at many Washington State institutions, including Fort Wright College in Spokane, Washington State University in Pullman (Eastern Washington), and the University of Washington in Seattle. Bunse became head of the printmaking department at the University of Montana in 1976, where he taught until his death in 1994.