While stumbling across the Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition, I really didn’t have any idea what it was all about. All I knew was that they were displaying some kind of prints. But after viewing the Exhibition at the C33 gallery, I have a better understanding of what the Southern Graphics Council is all about.
The Southern Graphics Council is a nonprofit membership organization that advances the professional standing of artists who make original prints, drawings, books, and hand-made paper. The Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition is an exhibition of prints and drawings on paper created by members of the Southern Graphics Council. Juried by the Southern Graphics Council Printmaker Emeritus, Warrington Colescott, this exhibition presents work that embodies the continually evolving practice of printmaking and its role in contemporary art. The work in the exhibition presents ways in which artist continues to innovate and push boundaries of printmaking medium while maintaining the respect for traditional methods and techniques. Columbia College Chicago is the first venue for this traveling exhibition.
With many prints and many different type of medium used and printing techniques used, there was a lot to take in. There were a few prints that stood out to me. The first print was titled Beauvais Lyons Association for Creative Zoology: Pantnthera Dolenzi. It is a black and white lithograph of a unique creature. The print was something that looked like you could find the print in an old zoology text book. What made me so attracted to it was although it wasn’t in color the fact that the artist made up this creature and made it so realistic. If you didn’t know, you would think that this was a real creature. One of my favorites in the collection was an etching and aquatint by Jon Goebel. The print is titled Wolf Attire. The print was of two young women standing in front of a fence. These two women both have fake pig noses on their faces while facing each other. The woman on the right is wearing a wolf head on her torso. The wolf head the on the female eye’s are open and fangs are dripping with saliva. The other woman is touching the fangs of the wolf with one and is holding half of a melon is the other hand. It seams that the wolf is drooling over the melon and the woman is teasing him with it. The looks on both women’s faces are calm and relaxed while the look on the wolf’s face look is one knowing he got caught. I love the whole idea of this print. Taking the idea of the story of The Three Little Pigs and twisting it around with a modern twist.
With many prints displayed this exhibition suicide in presenting work that embodies the continually evolving practice of printmaking and its role in contemporary art. By showing many different types of prints and contemporary techniques, this exhibit definitely secedes in its statement. The Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition can be found at the C33 Gallery on Columbia College campus. The exhibition runs through April 24, 2009.
Strong review. What I would say what makes this gallery Columbia about it is the creative work that is being presented in this gallery. It has drawings and prints that show the different aspects of creativity. I would try to talk about that in your final blog when you bring it all together.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, the opening paragraph of this review is so blahhhh. OK, you learned what it was all about, but I don't learn anything from this first paragraph--instead of telling me that you learned something, you should really sum up, in a very catchy nutshell, what exactly you learned, and whether or not it was worth learning. But also, given the assignment, you should tell me not only what you learned about prints and printmaking, but also what you learned about CCC. What kind of place are you in when this is the sort of thing you can just "stumble onto?" I have to say, I've had remarkably few opportunities to stumble onto such things.
ReplyDeleteThe middle paragraphs are informative and really interesting. I note the odd common theme to the works you focus on that they involve taking familiar forms (textbook, fairy tale) and de-forming them in some way. What does that teach CCC students? Is there a CCC "vibe" to this work, even though students didn't make it themselves? Good stuff here--and good issues to think about as you revise.
But the last paragraph is really confusing--I think it needs some more editing. "With many prints displayed this exhibition suicide in presenting work that embodies the continually evolving practice of printmaking and its role in contemporary art." Say what? Does that make sense to you?
"By showing many different types of prints and contemporary techniques, this exhibit definitely secedes in its statement." OK, the South did try to secede, but that was almost 150 years ago and did not turn out well. And what statement are you referring to?
Hey, you got a link or two and a cool image in here! More, more!