Interventions: Reframing the Printed Image is an exhibition currently on display at 21C in Louisville, Kentucky. Susanna Crum, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, Printmaking, at Indiana University Southeast curated this show specifically for MAPC (Mid America Print Conference). This exhibition’s theme was Re-framing the printed image. The printers’ work in this exhibition was focused on the means of appropriation, and intervening upon images of the past, and reinventing images. As the viewer, it took me a bit of in depth investigation to fully be able to connect the theme to the exhibition itself, it seemed to be a bit too broad to tie everything together.
When walking into the gallery for the first time,there was a struggle in connecting any of the pieces together. All of the styles displayed seemed to be drastically different at first glance. I suppose in a moment of reflection, having a breadth of styles and subject matters may have been the full intention in the first place, though that was never stated in the show’s statement.
After circling the small gallery for the third time, I was finally able to see more of a connection, between the wide breadth of prints. As the art of printmaking is known for making political and social statements. Many of the prints displayed were working with ideas and or imagery of political happenings (during the times they were made). Many of the prints included in this exhibition were made sometime during the nineteen eighties, which aided in the cohesion of a “displaced in time” impression.
A couple of pieces from this exhibition particularly left an “impression” on my mind. Jeremy Dean’s Historical Amnesia (2010), was a screen printed diptych. The imagery includes both Nixon and Kennedy on what is presumably an old television screen. This print is comprised of many horizontal lines of different weights and spacing, to create a further distorted image. The second image in this diptych is a bit more abstract. This image is comprised of a series of vertical lines of different thicknesses and spacing. On top of these lines are large heavy marks, suggesting the possible imagery of the American flag. These images paired together into a diptych really create an eerie tone, especially as the viewer looks onto this with the tense political makeup of 2016 in mind (which is pretty much undoubtedly on any viewer's mind). Although this piece was created in 2010, it is easy to see how relevant this piece is in 2016. The imagery of both Nixon and Kennedy in Historical Amnesia is quite comparable to current imagery on our televisions of Trump and Clinton, which is almost a testament that it is in our best interest to remember our political past, to be weary of our political future.
The next piece that particularly caught my eye in this exhibition was adjacent from Dean’s Historical Amnesia. James Rosenquist's Myth and Technology E - "Silverbirds" (1982), was a colorful geometric styled lithograph. Although this piece was a lithograph, the imagery almost resembled what looked to be a photograph of a distorted face taken with an old camera. The overlaid geometric linework was distorting, yet complex. This piece was a commentary on the consumerism of the american people, and an overall chaotic harmony of our society. As the viewer, the color pallet of saturated neutrals and the bold line work were very aesthetically pleasing, and lured me into exploring this print further.
When exiting this exhibition,there was a much more satisfying sense of cohesion, compared to the exhibition at first glance. This show is rewarding to examine a bit more deeply. Underlying ideas will become more evident, and the viewer’s satisfaction rate will increase.
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