America, the exhibition

Welcome to America.

I would have enjoyed coming to Iowa to see the installed exhibition in the gallery and having the opportunity to discuss the work with the students and anyone else curious about it. Since that wasn't possible for me, I have set up this blog to make interaction a little easier.

Posts have been put up below for the two individual large pieces and the 3 bodies of work. Anyone interested in leaving a comment or a question should put it in the appropriate post. General questions about art or printmaking can be left on this one. I'll check in on a regular basis and reply as things come up.

I would think that most students are familiar with blogging, but there may be people who view the show who aren't. To read or leave a comment, click on the "comments" at the bottom of each post. Type your question or comment in the box, and type the word in the Word Verification box. You will need to choose an ID. Those who have blogger/google accounts or other blogging accounts can use them, but if you don't have any of those, you can still comment by checking "anonymous", but if so I'd like you to sign the comment so I know who to address my response to.

A New Year for America

This print is a portrait of America. It contains one story from each of the 50 states (and D.C.), plus a few national stories, all of which were in the news a few weeks before and after New Years Day, 2003.

Employee

This print was inspired by the neighborhood around one of my part time jobs, an industrial park. There are no restaurants or retail establishments to draw customers, so everyone there is there to work. The landscape and buildings have be rearranged to suit the composition, and you wouldn't see this many people on the street at once, but otherwise it's based on reality. Though I think of myself as a artist first, the truth is that I will likely have to work one job or another (or a few at a time) to make a living for most of my life. In addition to reflecting the jobs found in that neighborhood, all the jobs shown are variations on things I've done to earn money at some time in my life.

Ecclesiastes

At Evening Let Not Your Hands Be Idle

Who can straighten what God has made crooked?

A solitary man with no companion

This series of prints comes from my reading of Ecclesiastes. The completed set of 22 prints is intended to be a visual adaptation of the Old Testament book. The narrator of the book (Qoheleth, or "The Preacher"), having concluded that he is unable to understand the true nature and intentions of God, decides to write about what he has come to know well, the eternal truths about human nature and natural law. Most of these truths are just as valid some 2300 years later, making the ancient book very adaptable to 21st century treatment.

The titles are quotes pulled directly from various translations. Some depictions are fairly literal approaches to the original text, while some use more unusual interpretations that are still meant to be faithful to the intent of the author. I tried to capture the overall major themes as I understand them- the importance of seeking wisdom, doing good works, and enjoying good things in life when they happen, but coupled with the inevitability of sadness and death, and the fact that life often seems confusion, random, and useless. My goal was that someone who viewed the whole series of prints (or the set of 14 in the exhibition) would be left in approximately the same emotional, philosophical, and psychological state as someone who reads the book.

Everyman

The images in these prints are based on my reading of Butler's Lives of the Saints (1981 edition). The four volume set contains about 2700 biographical entries of varying length and detail. I have chosen about 80 to interpret so far, 14 of which are included in this show. Some are fairly literal interpretations (although often updated to more contemporary imagery), others use metaphors, and a few make somewhat creative use of the original text. I chose objects and situations that could have something in common with the average person today. I wouldn't expect that everyone could relate to every print, but I would think that everyone could relate to some of them. If there is an aspect of the everyman in each saint, then perhaps there is an aspect or potential of the saint (religious or secular) in every one of us.

Scenes from the Grand Opening

This series of woodcut prints are based on unusual things I have seen in supermarkets. My working theory is that everyone, no matter how conventional or unusual, has to eat, so sooner or later everyone shows up at the supermarket to buy groceries. Spend enough time in supermarkets, and you are bound to witness some unusual events. Some of the resulting images are literal depictions of the original event, some are slight exaggerations, while others take a "what if?" approach, but all are based on a true event. The 14 prints in the current exhibition are favorites from this ongoing series that includes 21 prints so far.