Web Hosting and Dedicated Servers

Luther College hosts reception for print artist Joel Elgin

Date 2/17/2000 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Wisconsin print artist, Joel Elgin, will have his ongoing series, which is based on the lives of saints, on display in the Koren Galleries through March 30.

The exhibit features pieces from Elgin's ongoing series based on the lives of the saints.

A variety of techniques were used to make the prints, including: multi-plate color intaglio, lithography, simultaneous color printing methods, aquatint, line etch, scraping and burnishing.

Elgin's work has been exhibited in more than a dozen one-artist shows across the United States and in Mexico. His work is held in several private and public collections, including the Fine Arts Collection in Brooklyn, New York, and the Tempo Gallery in Madison, Wisconsin.

Elgin currently teaches printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and was a lecturer in art and director of the studio art exhibition program at Dartmouth College. Elgin taught drawing and printmaking part time at Luther during the 1995-1996 year.

In response to studying Elgin's work, Joy Unger ('00) said, "People have this duplicity. No one's purely saintly. While the saints are always uplifted as heavenly beings, they have a humanness to them." In response to Elgin's use of text in his painting Saint Patrick, Unger said, "I like the use of words. God is at the beginning and at the end. In addition, the word "bind" is forceful: to bind yourself to God takes a certain amount of resolve, determination and discipline."

David Kamm, Gallery Coordinator at Luther, said "It is a very interesting show, because the show is integrated as a series of images on the same theme. You can look for connections and relations between pieces."

Kamm said the show is especially interesting because it reflects an ongoing process. "He [Elgin] is still working on new images. The trip he's making to Northern Ireland to study Saint Patrick is part of this project.' Kamm said that learning the background of an art exhibit could add a different dimension of appreciation for the viewer. "When we look at art, we can look at it in just a visual way, but we can also go beyond that when we understand the body of knowledge behind the prints. It give us a different level of understanding."

A reception for Joel Elgin on Friday, February 25, from 2:30-5:30 p.m. at the Luther College Koren Galleries, located on the second and third floors of the Koren Center. The art exhibit and the reception are open to the public with no charge for admission.



--

Sara Stromseth
Chips Staff Writer

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]