2020
UNITY exchange
ARTWORK & STATEMENTS
STEVEN CHAPP
“yearning to breathe free…”
My title is taken from Emma Lazarus’s The New Colossus which is inscribed on a plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. In the phrasing she writes, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”, and continues. My intaglio print visually presents the image of Lady Liberty turning her back on those masses that reach out to grasp at the hope to live in a society that celebrates diversity, free of persecution with respect of our differences that make us a stronger nation.
My inclusion of an actual stamp of Lady Liberty produced in 1956 into my print was an afterthought and is itself an intaglio engraving printed on paper. Using these cancelled stamps demonstrates we at one time had pride in the symbol and wording of this Lady. I fear, no more.
Kevin Clinton
Lower Me
Lower me, gently to the ground. My wood engraving’s focus is on death being the greatest unifier. My figure rests serenely next to death while nature begins to take back his body. Thistles intertwine with flesh as nature consumes and gives back life to this world. Death is not morbid to me, but rather the cycle of existence on this earth.
KATYA COHEN
S2
The image for my 2020: Unity print came to me unbidden. At first, I contemplated making a linocut with a heart as its main theme by mirroring one of the twenties in 2020, even as the possibility of love and unity seem more and more remote as events unfold in our daily march towards the New Year. Then, one morning, I awoke with a fully formed idea that I would depict a mythical beast as Unity by melding the donkey symbol of the Democrats with the elephant one of the Republicans. I would draw and present it like Dürer had presented the rhinoceros he had only heard of but never seen; and that’s what I did.
Dürer’s print is a beautiful and big woodcut. Constrained by size and shape, I chose to make mine using line etching for the drawing and a Solarplate (instead of his movable type) for the words describing the beast.
SYD CROSS
Chained
In my work, “Chained”, I am expressing a condition that I believe we all currently share. Right now no matter what your political beliefs are a depiction of deep division is always prevalent in any media one partakes. My work is an effort to remind us of our vulnerability in not adhering to our own convictions.
ADDAM DUNCAN
Blended
The eleven color reduction linocut that I did for this exhibition reflects on Love, God, and the fact that everyone's heart beats the same in this world. That we are all connected by some esoteric understanding. The idea that no one really knows their own fate. That no matter how unique we are from one another, we are all bound by those restraints. Those same things that breed Envy and Empathy depending on where someone is on their personal timeline in this beautiful, confusing, and impermanent life.
MARTY EPP-CARTER
Message for Earth and Sky
My etching addresses the idea of unity in 2020 in two subtle ways. First, the process by which the print was made addresses unity in that it brings together two different etching plates, made with the same line etch process, but then inked differently. One is inked in the intaglio method, the other is relief rolled. Two different plates coming together to form one image.
Second, the message claims that flora, fauna, earth, sky and all humankind are one. This is a statement that we are all united with everything natural around us. Joni Mitchell sang: “We are stardust.” And I believe we are.
BARBARA ERVIN
Nexus
The definition of the word “Nexus” is that it is a connected group, a link…a tie…the center… an interconnection creating a bond… a unity.
The image of the wood slice on the bottom of the image can symbolize time; with the decay of the forest as an ending and a beginning, and the balance that occurs within that process. Trees actually have a relationship with their offspring and other trees of their own species. (Hidden Life of Trees, Wohlleben 2016). They use their extensive root systems as well as a fungus that lives under the leaf layer to transmit energy /sugar, and other information, to feed and connect the forest floor. The forest becomes a whole live community that is “unified” in survival as much as in decay and regeneration. The Aspen trees out west are a great example of a unified whole - they are all connected by roots; and one of those Aspen forests is considered one of the largest living organisms in the world.
This was a linocut with 7 different blocks printed on Unryu paper. The long strands of fiber within the thin delicate sheets of paper were perfect for the overall appearance and idea of the print.
MANDY FERGUSON
Fragment
Unity:
A: The result of bringing elements of art into the appropriate ratio between harmony and variety to achieve a sense of oneness.
B: The state of being joined or united as a whole.
C: A situation in which people, groups or countries join together or agree about something
D: The state of being complete and having all separate parts connected.
These are all definitions of what unity means. For my print, I was thinking about several things. The desire for unity in a politically volatile time that we are in right now seems to be an optimistic dream, and I am not an optimist. I think of the degree in which our society seems to be fragmenting and it leads me to think how, as a society, we seem to be conditioned to think in adversarial binaries. There are two sides to a story, there is man versus nature, right vs. left, etc.
The idea of culture vs. nature as a construct is something that I have thought about a lot, and that forms the basis of the image in this exchange. Splitting up the image into narrow strips physically separated by white stripes reinforces this idea of division. Also present in the image is that of the mathematical sinusoidal wave, the repetition of imagery and the dark band of the horizon line. These elements work to visually unify the fragmented imagery of forests and building. In this way, the image reflects both unity and fragmentation.
CATHERINE Labbé
ONE
u·ni·ty
1. the state of being united or joined as a whole.
2. the number one.
On a trip out west I took a train from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Rolling past beautiful landscapes and seascapes we also traveled past walls and fencing filled with Graffiti which were mostly words or names with an occasional carton figure. The bold color spray paint and large fat lettering brought to mind my middle school years when, along with my friends, we would write our names in the wide block print style lettering on our spiral notebooks, as well as, other things that we shouldn’t have. Little did I realize at the time that I would choose this simple block style as a part of symbolic reference in regards to the definition and the word “one” and the mathematical symbol. Using examples from history I also wanted to incorporate the circle, abacus, and trinity symbols to represent the state of being united. The drama, the story, the hope for 2020 Unity.
SHAUN McCullum
Swine Swell
I investigated the concept of unity in this body of work by processing etched images of the flora and fauna that we separate from our daily lives. The wave of swine depicted in this print represents a few of the many species that we have labelled as invasive. This species disrupts and destroys our landscapes, waste bins, artificial environments, and thoroughfares by committing the sin of being extremely adaptable. We have created the perfect environments for these species to thrive within, and they rapidly propagate across these spaces in a frenzied effort to reunify our towns and cities with the natural world that we have separated ourselves from. I find this attempt at unification noble . . . inspiring even, and these resilient plants and animals to be beautiful despite the ways in which we often depict them as destructive and loathsome.
VIVIAN MORRIS
A Friendly Medley
The most basic idea of unity is that of persons working together despite differences. In Vivian’s utopian world, all creatures strive to work together and accept each other despite their different appearances, personalities, and abilities. One way they enjoy creating unity is spending time together while playing music to create both audible and emotional harmony.
SUNNY MULLARKEY MCGOWEN
Air, Water, Earth /
concordia corroborat
In a world where Unity is being challenged daily, I looked back through history to find examples of unity. Where history repeats itself, it’s comforting to know that we can find evidence of people of long ago believing in the same concepts we yearn for today. I chose to use Celtic symbolism to explore the topic of Unity. The Triquetra represented the three domains of air, earth, and water,and the circle crossing through the triquetra symbolizes the unity of the three domains. With global warming and deforestation, we need strength and unity more than ever.
The other symbol you may notice is the three rays intercepting the entire piece, which is known as ‘Awen of the three rays of light’. In Celtic symbolism these three rays represent the harmony of opposites of the universe. I believe we need to unite, despite our differences, to salvage our planet from a darker future.
Finally, I gave the piece the title of “Air, Water, Earth / concordia corroborat” - which in Latin translates to strength with agreement.
AMBROSE ROUSE
This Isn't Community
Everyone wants community. However, we often push our cultural biases and vision for community on others; that really isn’t community. In fact, it feels a lot more like conquering disguised as community building. West Greenville is struggling with this as two disparate communities try to occupy the same city blocks. Until both groups begin laying aside prejudices and biases — unity cannot be achieved in West Greenville.
Susan Staggs
Family Reunion
This particular print is a manipulation of a color photo which I took 20 years ago. I’ve used other parts of it before. I keep images like a treasure chest of what’s happened that I actually experienced. Anyway, it feels still. The print is a window into, and somewhat narrative, but it’s about relationship. It’s hard to remember that there’s not really self and other.
Jared Stanley
Through The Blood
Considering “unity” within today’s cultural climate seems a difficult task, as it is much easier to find conflict and derision than community. There is one group of peoples, however, that find their unity through an individual. The Christ of Christianity binds believers into one spiritual body through faith in the atoning, sacrificial shedding of His blood. The transformative power of this blood (Isaiah 1:18) enables unity. The messenger in the middle left of the composition carries a light. He shares the promise of this unity by proclaiming Jesus Christ’s mortal death, accomplishing the work of the cross, while pointing to a resurrected, immortal Christ, enthroned in heaven above. Behold, what work is accomplished through the blood.
Freda Sue
Can’t Say We Didn’t Try
There is a universal desire of the community. We bring presupposition to the table and seek to fulfill the personal ideals of unity. Underneath the layer of patching and sewn up scars of misconceptions, the void, and the brokenness within may just bring us together back to the humble ground that we all stand on.
Su Tamsett
Equal Under The Law
The majority of my printwork is highly detailed and finely executed. I chose to use woodblock for this print because it allowed a crudeness that I feel suits the subject. The sadness of the expression on the subject’s face is one that expresses what most of us, as a nation, feel given the current political climate within which we now live.
With the year “2020” growing ever closer and the chaos that is currently running rampant within our government, the mention of that particular number has come to symbolize the hopes that people are placing on the outcome of the upcoming elections.
The divisiveness that grips us as a people is threatening to erode our strength as a nation as well as to jeopardize the very future of our government. The checks and balances that our forefathers put in place to ensure that none of the three branches of our government could usurp the powers of the other two are being ignored. The refusal of elected officials to honor the oaths that they took when they assumed office - oaths to protect our nation, our government, and its citizens - is now threatening to destroy the democratic ideal upon which our government is based.
As I worked on the final woodblock for this print - a block that included the lettering that comprises the vertical bars behind which the current president stands - the news of corruption and obstruction of justice by highly placed government officials was exploding, causing me to edit and re-edit the wording.
Many hope that these individuals will rethink and decide to put country both before party and before their ambitions for re-election. Failure to hold our current president and his cohorts accountable for their actions will set precedents that will be difficult to nullify.
No one, no matter how high the office, should be granted protection above the law.
The president should be held accountable to the full extent of the law for the sins he is behind. There should be unity in the way that we treat those who violate our legal system and who abuse the power granted to them.
Joyce Ellen Weinstein
At One With the Universe
In this work the sitter is reclining on her couch, surrounded and enveloped by her possessions. She is being home. She is resting, contemplating, comfortable in her private domain, “At One With the Universe.” There is a suggestion that she is almost an extension of the couch on which she is reclining epitomizing the idea of what it means to be home or part of a larger world.
Joel Wilkinson
Conversation
This print is about appreciation of conscientiousness, consideration, and organic and inclusive conversation.
Anderson Arts Center will display the 2020 Unity Exchange along with select works from each of the printmakers. Artwork available for purchase
110 Federal Street
Anderson, SC 29625
864.222.2787
Gallery Hours: Tues-Fri, 9:30am-5:30pm
Opening Reception:
Dec 6, 2019 from 6:30 pm-8:30pm
Exhibit Dates:
Dec 6, 2019 - Jan 10, 2020
Gallery Talk:
Jan 11, 2020 at 6:00pm