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Jim Dine (b. 1935) is an American artist whose multimedia practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, poetry, and performance. In 1973, he undertook his first project at Graphicstudio, Metamorphosis of a Plant into a Fan (1973-74). This set of five aluminum sculptures depicts a conceptual transformation of a houseplant into a tabletop fan, a process Dine had first explored in his 1961-63 charcoal on canvas, The Plant Becomes a Fan.
Although fabrication proved challenging for Graphicstudio and took place both in Tampa and at Dine’s studio in Putney, Vermont, the project’s successful completion marked the beginning of a long collaborative relationship between the artist and Graphicstudio.
Other projects from this period included a print series exploring similar subject matter titled The Plant Becomes A Fan (1974-75), another series of aluminum sculptures called The Tampa Tool Reliefs (1973-1974), and The Woodcut Bathrobe (1974-75). The depth and significance of Dine’s ongoing collaborations with Graphicstudio were recognized by the university when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by USF in 1987.
