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  What a Relief! Variations on Printmaking

  Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois

  What (is) a Relief?

  Relief printmaking was the first printmaking process invented, and has its origins in seals in China around 255 BCE. At its most basic, one can think of a stamp as a relief print. The artist uses tools to cut away portions of the matrix (a wood block, linoleum sheet, Styrofoam, etc.), leaving behind a raised image area, which is then printed on a substrate (paper, fabric, etc.). To this day, relief printmaking is still the most accessible form of printmaking because a press is not required to make a print – just the matrix, ink, pressure and the substrate. The process is direct, accessible and low-tech, and allows for bold graphics that can be abstract or representational.

  The works in this show provide three avenues into the process, from historical and contemporary perspectives. The ukiyo-e prints provide an opportunity to study the process from a historical perspective. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints flourished in Japan between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, focusing on the pleasure districts of Edo (modern Tokyo). Each individual print was made from a number of separate blocks, starting with the key block which creates the lines of the print. This print is pasted on separate blocks, and these blocks are then carved individually, based off the lines provided by the key block, to carry a specific color. An example of the process creating a wood block print can be seen on the screen behind you. Beginning with an image of the key block, the images outline the process of making a print of Suzuki Harunobu’s Heron Maid, building up the print using the separate colors, ending with a block that is carved to provide texture to the final work.

  These historical works from Augustana’s collections have been brought together with two contemporary artists using the relief process to very different ends. Janet Taylor, a contemporary fiber artist from North Carolina, creates matrices out of Styrofoam, and prints directly on silk organza, creating diaphanous, layered compositions. Joseph Lappie is a local artist and professor at St. Ambrose University. His series inspired by the Nuremberg Chronicles is on display for the first time in the Quad Cities as part of this exhibition, which combines the prints and their matrices, as a cohesive whole.

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  A Place Called Home: Frank Lundahl and the Quad Cities

  Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois

  Frank Lundahl (1858-1932) was a Swedish-American artist born in Rock Island. A painter of interior murals by trade, his works in Augustana’s collections focus on the world around him, calling our attention to the everyday beauty of our region, this place we call home.

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  PlantBot Genetics Presents: The Moth Project

  Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois

  PlantBot Genetics Inc. presents an engaging overview of second shift pollinators such as the moth, along with recent advances in self-pollinating robo-plants. The Moth Project highlights inspired responses to the decline of the honeybee and the hope that Moths and PlantBots will step in and save the day.

  As consumers, we no longer know the real price of our food. Present food distribution systems are so complicated that it is unrealistic to expect consumers will make responsible choices based on the knowledge at hand. We encourage people to think more about their food, where it comes from, and where it may be going. PlantBot Genetics shares the remote control in the ArtLab, releases robotic plants, commandeers public spaces, offers mothing events, and plants a night blooming community garden. Whether it be a street, museum, or gallery based event, our goal is to inspire people to question the food they eat and how it got there in an entertaining and artistic way. Having an out of gallery experience is often more memorable and can speak to a much wider audience. Our street tactics bring art and education into a community despite the level of support for healthy food or art culture in that particular location.

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  New Departures 2016 : Senior Studio Art + Graphic Design Exhibition

  Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois

  2016 Senior Studio Art + Graphic Design Exhibition featuring works by Lauren Becker, TJ Clifford, Sydney Crumbleholme, Nathan Gray, Tyler James, Bailey Kerschieter, Katie Knauft, Ryen Merhar, Holly Scholl, and Jacob Soukup.