It is said that first impressions are everything.

This fall, the NIU Art Museum is looking to leave its own impression with Global Matrix II: An International Print Exhibition.

Located at Altgeld Hall, on College Avenue, the special gallery is devoted to the worldwide phenomenon of printmaking. The exhibit began yesterday and features works from 66 artists from 22 countries.

The first Global Matrix display premiered in 2002 at the Purdue University Galleries in West Lafayette, Ind., before making a stop at NIU in 2004. Global Matrix II was also developed by Purdue and continued with the idea of showcasing a variety of international artists and their talents.

The show’s focus is on the printed work, which is an image created through a series of impressions, and one of the oldest art forms, according to Pete Olson, assistant director of the NIU Art Museum.

“All over the world, artists have worked with this form for hundreds of years,” Olson said.

He admits that one of the allures in printmaking is the fact that each one is designed by hand.

With the uprise in computers through the years, hand-drawn imaging has been replaced by the various graphics programs and photo-manipulation softwares available to the public.

“There is so much in the world that is mechanically produced that I think people respond to seeing something that is made by a person,” Olson said. “[A print] just seems to have more soul to it.”

Thus far, response has been positive, drawing both fine art enthusiasts and casual viewers alike.

Bradley Cahill, a graduate student studying sculpture, assists the museum with the preparing and installation of galleries like Global Matrix II. He said working so closely with artists and their creations gives him deeper perspective into his field of study.

“To see things online or in books can be a powerful experience,” Cahill said. “But to have the piece right there, to be face-to-face with a piece of paper or a print that somebody in Japan had been working on, there’s something really special about that.”