Print Show Highlights Work of Michigan Artists
The state of printmaking is “still strong in Michigan,” according to
juror and Ithaca native Michael Barnes after viewing the 28th Annual
Alma College Statewide Print Competition.
“Nationally, printmaking has gone through a lot of changes, with
digital technologies and a variety of mediums incorporating into the
pieces,” said Barnes. “The definition of printmaking is very broad, and
this year’s show represents that broad definition.”
The show is on display in the Flora Kirsch Beck Gallery in the Clack
Art Center at Alma College through Dec. 10. Admission is free and open
to the public. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through
Fridays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
Best of show: "Repose" by Mary Brodbeck
Barnes, associate professor and head of the printmaking area at
Northern Illinois University, viewed 98 prints submitted by 36 Michigan
artists. He found a wide range of mediums and printmaking processes,
including woodcuts, serigraphs, monotypes with digital images,
lithographs, intaglio, mixed media, and more.
A 1991 graduate of Alma College, Barnes returned to his alma mater for the first time as juror of the annual competition.
“This print show at Alma College is what got me excited about
printmaking as a student,” said Barnes, a former “best of show” winner
at Alma. “Every year the art department brought in jurors who really
inspired me to do printmaking.”
Barnes has exhibited his own works nationally and internationally. A
collection of 14 lithographs by Barnes, representing what he calls
“bits and pieces of sub-conscious thoughts and drawings that have
accumulated in my sketchbook,” is on display in the Clack Art Center
adjacent to the Beck Gallery.
This year’s print show features 38 prints representing the works of 18
Michigan artists. Barnes selected four prints for purchases awards and
one honorable mention, with an eye toward skill of execution and
thoughtful concepts of imagery.
The $1,000 Kent Kirby Memorial Award for Best of Show went to Mary
Brodbeck of Kalamazoo for her woodblock prints “Empire,” Repose” and
“Felled.” The series of images depicts natural scenes along the sands
and eastern coastline of Lake Michigan.
“The artist uses a water-based Japanese technique — an old very
specialized process of printing —and she handles it beautifully,” said
Barnes. “I love the simpleness of the composition. She has an acute
sense of color choice.”
"Psalm 126: A Song of Ascents (Cedar Waxwing)" by John Bergmeier
The $800 Award from the President and Friends of Alma College
went to John Bergmeier of Pontiac for his serigraph print, “Psalm 126:
A Song of Ascents (Cedar Waxwing).” The silk screen print has biblical
references among its images and a picture of a cedar waxwing bird that
is marked by a bright crest and a yellow-tipped tail.
Barnes acknowledged the “poetic sense” of the piece and the
appropriation of both contemporary and historical images. “It’s an
example of a post-modern approach to printmaking,” he said.
The $400 Alumni Purchase Award went to Earl Elowski of East Tawas for a
transfer print, mixed media piece titled “Taking Lambs to Market.” The
print illustrates a drawing of a pickup truck hauling a trailer of
lambs to market for slaughter.
“I like the combination of media he uses,” said Barnes. “It is one of a
series of pieces that references the livestock industry, using
storytelling as commentary on their slaughter.”
The $300 Luis Norberto Lopez Isnardi Memorial Award went to Tim
Gralewski of Royal Oak for his screen print titled “Deconstructing
Man.” The colorful image of a man in suit and tie with bright red
hands, pipe and hat is set around words in the background. Barnes
referred to it as a “quiet, academic” piece.
“There’s an historical feel to it that seems to represent abstract
impressions of the 1950s and ‘60s, with color scheme and references to
the deconstructionist movement in art,” he said.
Barnes also awarded an Honorable Mention to Brett Colley of Grand
Rapids for “Targets of Opportunity,” a multi-block relief print using
linoleum cuts showing a collage of images of political leaders and
icons of oil and gasoline companies.
“I enjoy his aggressive political commentary,” said Barnes. “It’s an
inventive way to collage the images. It’s political art, which to a
certain extent never gets old. There’s a playfulness to this, almost
like a children’s comic book feel — a more aggressive in-your-face
approach.”
Posted: Mon, November 24th, 2008 at 8:26AM
