Kansas City Metro/Johnson County:
JCCC (Johnson County Community College) Quality of Arts Education, Public Art Aquisition & Access (Exerpt from an Interview with Landon Kirchner by Penny Thieme, 2019)
"Zig Priede was the cornerstone of quality and standard of the Visual Arts Education and public art at Johnson County Community College."
Landon Kirchner, Assistant Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (retired) initiated the Campus Art Project in 1980, “as a vehicle for making the arts more visible on campus and to the community.” Kirchner believed Priede's vast knowledge and successes as a printer, artist and Professor of Art would revolutionize Fine Arts at the college. Kirchner said, “Zig immediately elevated the quality of instruction and the stature of the Arts Program, establishing a high quality curriculum standard still used today.”
Kirchner said, “Zig was a tremendous aid to me in selecting works for the campus collection in the early years. He has a keen eye for craftsmanship and a very sophisticated aesthetic." His work as a teacher, advisor and member of the Campus Art Project Committee brought Kirchner’s vision for the students, faculty and Johnson County community to fruition, was instrumental in establishing the original dedicated Gallery of Art in the Carlsen Center and invaluable to it’s exhibitions.
"As a student of Zigmunds' drawing and painting classes, I was privileged to have a professor who was a practicing artist that treated art as an endeavor worthy of deep contemplation. Zigmunds' assignments help to challenge my perception of what is and isn’t working in my art. While his responses to projects varied, his comments remained consistently thorough and considerate of my development, which serve as testament to his superior status as an educator. Zigmunds often urged me to stretch, and that has been sound advice that I still use to tap into new and unique aesthetic solutions."
Minnesota
2014 The College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota awards deserving students the Zigmunds Priede Scholarship in Printmaking in recognition of his extraordinary work and impact.
“While at the University of Minnesota Zig helped broaden the printmaking studios and fostered a positive and collaborative working environment. He nurtured student talent who became world-class printers and artists as well as successes in other fields such as computer software and design.
Zig was a practicing artist and university professor throughout his career. Zig brought his artistic integrity, creative evolution and open experimentation to push the boundaries of printmaking. He helped define the potential of artistic collaboration between artists and master printers that continues today.”
1974 Walker Art Center, Director, Martin Friedman
“Zig is recognized as a master printer and his work at Universal Limited Art Editions in Long Island brought him into close professional association with such leading artists as Jasper Johns, Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler whose lithographs he printed. To Function effectively in this technical capacity and, at the same time, develop one’s own abilities as an artist is unique but Mr. Priede has certainly done so.”
1975 University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Summer Research Grant
ULAE (Universal Limited Art Editions)
1974 Tatyana Grosman, Founder of Universal Limited Art Editions
"His (Zig) sensitive, stimulating, and inventive work with the artists here contributed greatly to what is being called today the renaissance of graphics in the United States and perhaps the world. The lithographs which he printed with Lee Bontecou, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Fritz Glarner, Jasper Johns, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg and Larry Rivers have become classics and are in the most important museums and private collections. It is my privilege on this occasion to offer my tribute and thanks to Zigmunds Priede.”
1969 Priede brought his gifted student Bill Goldston to ULAE to work on photo-sensitive, lithographs with Robert Rauschenberg. Goldston remained with ULAE, learned every aspect of the world renowned Fine Art Publisher, became the Executive Director of ULAE and successfully brought it into the 21st century.