Visiting Artist Series

Tag: Visiting Artist Series

Artist Berel Lutsky Discusses Image and Language in Visiting Artist Series Lecture

Artist Berel Lutsky explores the interplay between image and language in his artwork Tuesday, April 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium in a Lawrence University 2009-2010 Visiting Artist Series address. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation will examine the often misplaced trust people place in appearances and well-crafted explanations. The vast amount of both visual and verbal information bombarding  people today often causes them to ignore the sources and manipulations of image and word. Focusing on the blurred line between fact and fiction, Lutsky’s artwork examines the consequences of ignoring the complexities of the truths that drive the world.

Lutsky, an associate professor of art at UW-Manitowoc, works primarily with paper, specializing in commercial and fine art printmaking, drawing and photography. He recently spent a month-long residency in Israel at the Jerusalem Print Workshop. His artwork has been exhibited publicly in the U.S., Israel and Japan and also can be found in private collections in China, Belgium and Germany.  One of his pieces was selected last summer for the Wisconsin Visual Artist’s Biennial, a state-wide fine arts competition open to all visual artists in the state.

Underground Comix Examined in Visiting Artist Series Lecture

The evolution of underground comix into a popular art form will be the focus of the latest Lawrence University visiting artists series lecture.

James-Danky_web

James Danky, who teaches in the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication, presents “Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics into Comix” Thursday, March 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation is based on Danky’s 2009 book of the same name. The book, co-written with Denis Kitchen, explores the work of generations of cartoonists, the impact of American underground comix on the economics of mainstream comic book publishing and their influence on modern culture.

Underground comix — small press or self-published, socially relevant or satirical comic books — gained popularity in the late 1960s and early ’70s in the United States and Great Britain. They often include content forbidden by the Comics Code Authority. Danky’s new book is the first serious survey of this often overlooked art form.

Danky is the founder and director of the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America at UW-Madison. He spent 35 years as newspapers and periodicals librarian for the Wisconsin Historical Society, developing a nationally recognized collection in the field of American History, before retiring in 2007. He has written or edited dozens of books on topics ranging from African American newspapers to women’s publications to the Native American press.

His appearance is supported by the department of art and art history.