The first edition of four of the two volume set that I am tentatively calling Hermeneutics is finished. Like the two books from the MFA show the book uses vernacular photographs as a ploy to examine those things that shape our process of interpretation. These books take that idea into the field of religion and theology by employing a variety of cultural symbols, images, and text to suggest an assortment of differing positions that may guide interpretation. While some are done with a sense of irony and humor, they are intended to be an irenic sort of enterprise as a critique from within the bounds of the church. You can see more here.
Volume 1 begins with a rather provocative quote from Stanley Hauerwas stating, "...No task is more important than for the Chruch to take the Bible our of the hands of individual Christians in North America...[because] they are possessed by habits far too corrupt for them to be encouraged to read the Bible on their own." (Unleashing The Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America, p. 15) Hauerwas argues that North American Christians are too swayed by their status as democratic citizens to read the Bible correctly. Hauerwas is after those things that shape, and in this case, distort our readings to texts
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Last weekend I printed. Printed. And printed some more for these two books. They will be another set of photo albums like those of from the MFA. Instead of using the translucent pages of the MFA albums, this one uses the traditional black pages with printing in a silvery/black ink. The other books had a mish-mash of images, these two books incorporate 32 different prints wrestling with some aspect of theology or religion in general. The subject matter suggested a fabric change as well. Instead of the black I had used in the past, I went with the magenta. I will probably start shortly inserting the photos into the album and wait to cover the other 3 in the variable edition.
A few weeks ago I put up a post about print exchanges and mentioned that I was participating in the LaCalaca Press International exchange. They have done a wonderful job of publication of the work by uploading images of the prints as they came in. I just received an email with a digital postcard of sorts notifying me of the first exhibition to be held in Texas. Here is the relevant info... Opening: Friday, October 7th, 6:00PM to 10:00PM. Art House Studios 1009 Laurel Ave. McAllen, Texas, USA. Exhibit runs from Oct. 7th through Oct. 28th, 2011. The exhibit, Graphic Radicals: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated, features highlights from the independent political cartooning magazine World War 3 Illustrated. The exhibit includes original artwork about events that artists have scrutinized, documented and participated in over the last three decades.
Graphic Radicals: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated opens on September 28 at two galleries in Grand Forks: the Colonel Eugene E. Myers Gallery on the UND campus and the Third Street Gallery on Kittson, and continues through October 31. The opening receptions are Wednesday, October 26, 2011, beginning at the UND location from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m., then the Third Street Gallery, downtown Grand Forks, from 7 – 9:00 p.m. Artists Seth Tobocman, Sabrina Jones and Peter Kuper will be in attendance. World War 3 Illustrated was established in 1980 in New York City in by artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman in response to the Iran hostage crisis and the election of Ronald Regan. Since that time, the publication, produced annually, includes artwork – created by a collective of artists - that confront social and political issues on a specific theme. Themes addressed in World War 3 Illustrated include wide-ranging subjects such as racism, prison, AIDS, religion, sex and war. The publication has also addressed specific events, such as the Tompkins Square Riot, responses to September 11, a teacher’s strike in Mexico and hurricane Katrina rescue efforts. The artwork presented in each issue received critical success. Holland Carter, writing in a New York Times review of the exhibition, observes that “The 9/11 issue, which appeared very soon after the disaster, is still a heart-stopper, with its diary-like narratives in cartoon form and its evocation of the grief and paranoia that gripped the city”. Artists featured in Graphic Radicals: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated created powerful responses to critical contemporary events. Critic Lucy Lippard notes that the “ecological and social prophesies [presented in World War 3 Illustrated] are coming to pass, and the apocalyptic vision that gives WW3 its desperate force and unique identity is the present”. In an early publication, World War 3 Illustrated captured the dangerous, apocalyptic atmosphere of the New York City during the Tomkin Square riots. In the most recent issue featured in the exhibit, contributing artists captured the national mood of economic and ecological distress by offering proposals for progress that may improve the state of the nation. Graphic Radicals: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated features paintings, comics, murals, film, animation and drawings from 40 artists that contributed to World War 3 Illustrated. Among the artists represented in the exhibition are Art Speigelman, Sue Coe, Eric Drooker, Mac McGill, Sabrina Jones, Keven Pyle, Rebecca Migdal, James Romberg and Marguerite Van Cook. There are over 150 works of art included in the exhibition; the work is presented in a thematic, chronological manner. Graphic Radicals: 30 Years of World War 3 Illustrated is on loan from the Exit Art cultural center in New York City. Exit Art present experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and environmental issues. The exhibit is curated by Peter Kuper, Seth Tobocman and Susan Willmarth. The exhibition is free and open to the public. A panel discussion featuring artists Peter Kuper, Seth Tobocman and Sabrina Jones will be held on Tuesday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m. at the University of North Dakota Memorial Union, River Valley Room. For more information, contact Kim Fink, 777-2905 or Joel Jonientz, 777-3395. One of my favorite things about moving back into the arts world is discovering print exchanges. While I have not done many, (I just completed my 4th last night), they are great and a no-brainer to participate in. Not only do they get you working, they are a nice line on the CV, generally low in cost, and you get a stack of artwork in exchange for yours...as I said...a no brainer. The image here is for an exchange put together by La Calaca Press with a Day of the Dead theme. Click on the image to see other work from the exchange on work La Calaca's website. Each group that puts an exchange together does it a little differently. Many do not have an explicit theme like La Calaca's, and many have different sized prints and edition numbers. The image above was 7x9, whereas the one I finished last night for the Printmaking Center of New Jersey is 11x11 and in an edition of 12. PCNJ will keep 2 (one for their collection and one for the traveling show) while the other 10 are distributed randomly to other artists. In turn for my twelve, I will get 10 prints back. This past year, one of my former fellow students organized a print exchange of North Dakota printmakers with an edition size of 20ish and a size of like 11x17. This series of prints is now traveling through North Dakota on the NDAGA circuit of galleries. So, in these cases, not only did I get stack of wonderful prints, I got a significant traveling exhibition as well for my CV. |
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