Mid America Print Council collaborated with Indiana University and University of Louisville to bring the Print Matters, Printing Matters conference to the local area. It included demonstrations, discussions, portfolio exchanges and exhibitions. The recipient for this year's Outstanding Printmaker award, Deborah Maris Lader, received a show in Indiana University's Barr Gallery. At first glance Lader creates numerous works in similar size and form. When you walk into the gallery the viewer may notice a similarity in the proportions chosen for the prints in the gallery. These pieces are hung at eye level and were all framed, either black or white. Each print had slight variations in size, though they were hung in sections to compliment their surrounding prints. Lader demonstrates repetition through her prints with minimal color palettes and majority being black and white.
Within each print there is a bird as the main subject. Although some prints represented a bird with elongated necks and stout beaks, others were revealing stretched arms with human hands. According to Lader, creating a bird with human limbs lives between earth and flight. This may spark the curiosity of the viewer because of the repetition of the subject. Some questions could arise, “Is the artist creating a story with the bird? Is this a timeline of the bird’s life?” If this compares to other contemporary art pieces, the artists desires the way the audience will question the art. Nevertheless, the bird is a prominent theme throughout Lader's work and at first seems unusual. Every audience member is different but can be drawn to something that may seem out of place or out of the ordinary.
What makes the bird as the subject so important? Lader claims that she is merely capturing the beauty of the bird by commemorating them. Lader creates a sense of danger and peace with the possibility of flight being portrayed. These prints create various environments surrounding the bird. Her work creates stories with whimsical atmospheres, while some being family extracts and others illustrate common nature scenes.
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| Coat of Arms, 2012 |
One of the first lithograph pieces when walking into the Barr Gallery is the 2012 work, Coat Of Arms. This catches the eye with its twisted and squished human arms interacting with one another. The bird is on the right side using his elongated human arms to play the guitar while another arm is adjusting the top of the guitar. Moving your eyes counterclockwise around the print you see hands creating shadowed figures, holding miniature animals and playing instruments. The print is in black on white paper, relating to most works in the show. When viewing this print as a whole instead of by sections it creates a human heart with the outline of the arms, relating once more to an overall theme of a bird relating to human parts.
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| Uprooted, 2012 |
Another print that stood out because of its differences in the show was another 2012 print, Uprooted. This print was towering over the prints near it but was more narrow. It had a white frame and incorporated muted colors. Black ink still dominated most of this print but it used negative or white space to draw the viewer into the center. In the center you see a bird head on an elongated human body holding another small bird. They are crammed in a circular structure, which if relating to human anatomy can be seen as a stomach or a uterus. Weighing down the bottom of the print is roots, creating a whimsical nature scene along the outside of the center image.
While each print created diverse influences, the overall experience of the exhibition was powerful. Lader produced a cohesive subject matter but created different scenes to generate varying emotion. Without the minimal color and the purposeful subject matter, this exhibition would not have been as successful. To go see this show would be beneficial to not only bring inspiration to the viewer but to feel the hope of flight created by the artist.
- Alexandria Montgomery
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