Dordt Hosts Art Reception on the Mathematical Art of Yeohyun Ahn, Nov. 13

Image: ©Yeohyun Ahn, all rights reserved

South Korean artist combines code, typography, and mathematics with calligraphy.

Sioux Center, Iowa: Beginning November 2, a new art exhibition will be on display in Dordt’s Campus Center Gallery. The artwork is by Yeohyun Ahn, South Korean artist and graphic designer.

Ahn is an award-winning typographer and visual designer. She is also an assistant professor of communication at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Previously, she taught at Chicago State University, the School of Art Institute of Chicago, and did freelance graphic art for the New York Times. Her artwork has been featured in the Washington Post and the New York Times, as well as in art galleries in South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Growing up in South Korea, Ahn was first drawn to typography by learning calligraphy from her grandparents. While her parents encouraged her to study computer science, Ahn eventually decided to pursue an MFA in graphic design.

Her artwork is a representation of “cybernetic ecology”: the harmonization of the human and the machine.  Ahn uses computer coding and mathematical algorithms to create abstract representations of letters and words, which simultaneously evoke cutting-edge technology and the natural or religious. To create her works, Ahn utilizes a variety of computer software, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and “Processing” – a more recent program that integrates coding and artwork.

“[My pieces] convey diversified visual messages inspired by nature,” says Ahn, “addressing environmental issues such as green design, healing through art, and exploring philosophical and religious interpretations regarding life, death and love.”

Two of Ahn’s collections: “The Bible + Code” and “O Antiphones + Code” will be exhibited in the Campus Center Gallery at Dordt from November 2 until the end of December. “The Bible + Code” is inspired by Scriptural imagery, and “O Antiphones + Code” was created for the 2016 Advent Vespers booklet for the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University.

A reception will be held at Dordt’s Campus Center Gallery on November 13, from 6:45-8:00 p.m., with a discussion at 7:00 p.m.

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The Dordt College Art Collection was recently featured in SEEN Journal

The Dordt College Art Collection was recently featured in SEEN Journal, the large format, color magazine published by CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). The theme of the issue is “Collect” and focuses on Christian individuals and institutions that collect works of art. In one article, “Bringing Out Treasures Old and New,” the first page of text overlays a full-page photo of Professor David Versluis’s 18 foot high sculpture, “Enlaced: A Burning Bush, Psalm 19.” The article, written by John Kohan, a former associate editor and correspondent for Time magazine who now curates church art exhibitions, briefly highlights the Dordt College Art Collection and the fact that nearly all of the art in its permanent collection is on display for students, campus community, and visitors to see daily.

In 2014, Kohan came to Dordt’s campus to talk about the Sadao Watanabe Collection show he had curated and that was on display in Dordt’s gallery.

“He was impressed with our collection,” says Versluis, who is the campus art curator. When Kohan was later asked to write a piece focusing on institutional art collections for this issue of SEEN, he contacted Versluis for an interview and for photos of some of Dordt’s major works. Versluis sent them. He was pleased and surprised to see the “Enlaced” photo featured prominently. He is also pleased that others are able to see a bit of the collection that he has helped build and care for and that includes a range of significant art works by respected Christian artists.

For more about the Dordt College art collection here’s a link.

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Corita Kent exhibit on display at Dordt College

Corita Kent
Love, 1979
Screen Print, 20 x 20 inches
“…the ability to feel is very beautiful.” —Corita Kent

Dordt College will display a selection of original screen prints by Corita Kent from the collection of the Corita Art Center, Los Angeles. The exhibition of 26 prints will be on display from January 6 to February 12.

The exhibition has been curated by Dordt College Professor of Art David Versluis. “I attempted to select work that represents the range of Corita Kent’s typographic style and expressiveness,” says Versluis. “As a graphic design instructor for many years I’ve thought about the qualities of Corita Kent and her activist screen prints of the ’60s and ’70s. This exhibition suggests that her message and image prints are as important and relevant for us today as they were nearly 50 years ago.”

Corita Kent (Sister Mary Corita) (1918–1986), born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, was an artist, educator, and advocate for social justice. At age 18 she entered the religious order Immaculate Heart of Mary, eventually teaching in and then heading up the art department at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. Her work evolved from figurative and religious to incorporating advertising images and slogans, popular song lyrics, biblical verses, and literature. Throughout the ’60s, her work became increasingly political, urging viewers to consider poverty, racism, and injustice.

In 1968 she left the order and moved to Boston. Her work evolved into a sparser, introspective style, influenced by living in a new environment, a secular life, and her battles with cancer. She remained active in social causes until her death in 1986. At the time of her death, she had created almost 800 screen print editions, thousands of watercolors, and innumerable public and private commissions.

Roy R. Behrens sent me this review of the Corita Kent catalog from the College Art Association.

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Award-winning photographer René Clement to visit Dordt

Liberty ©2015 René Clement
Photomontage/collage

New York City-based and award-winning freelance photographer René Clement is giving a presentation and showcasing some of his work in the Ribbens Academic Complex Classroom Building  at Dordt College this semester. The public is invited to attend the presentation on Wednesday, September 28, at 3:30 p.m. in SB 1641 in the Science Building.

One of Clement’s current fine art photographic projects is called “Seasoned”, which is making complex montages of trees and the atmosphere created from in NYC environs. Another intricate and highly imaginative montage/collage project are called “Timescapes” and “4Sight”. Recent editorial photographic projects feature Egypt, Guantanamo Bay Prison, and Syrian refugees at the Health Care Center of Amel Association in Tyre, South Lebanon.

His honors include Zilveren Camera awards for Foreign Documentary and News Pictures, and publication in Time Magazine’s Pictures of the Year in 2003. He has published seven books of photography including Promising Land (Land vol Beloften in Dutch) about Dutch Americans living in Iowa.

Clement will be on campus as a visiting artist. The Dordt community is invited to view Rene Clement’s photographs before and after the public presentation. The photos will remain on display throughout the semester.

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“I AM American” art exhibit on display in the Dordt College

The Dordt College Campus Center Art Gallery will feature an exhibition titled “I AMerican,” curated by artist Sergio Gomez, whose work was recently featured at Dordt. The show, which explores the meaning of being an American, will run from November 12 to January 3, with a reception scheduled for November 16, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Gallery Talk at 6:45 p.m. will feature Rikki Heldt, Instructor of Language Studies and Abby Foreman, Associate Professor of Social Work.

Gomez says that “‘I AM American’ tells the story of many of us. As a Mexican immigrant, now naturalized American, my story is part of the collective story of this great nation.”  “I AM American” is not an exhibition about immigrants only, however. Some of the artists in the show have been born in the United States and some can even trace their history back to the American Indians.

“‘I AM American’ aims to engage the viewer in a conversation about the complexities of the American experience,” says Gomez. Participating artists use a variety of styles, visual forms, symbols, and metaphors to provide a window into the multi-cultural experience and suggest an answer to the question: Who is an American? Some works directly approach the theme of identity while others delve into the American experience.

Participating artists include Joanne Aono, Cesar Conde, Agustina Diez Sierra, Paulina Gal, Mario Gonzalez Jr., Salvador Jimenez-flores, Michael Klaus Schmidt, Chandrika Marla, Janice Meister, Joe Milosevich, InJung Oh, Joyce Owens, Steve Prince, Sally Ko, Marcos Ray, and Eden Ünlüata-Foley.

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New work: The 2015 Sioux County Oratorio Chorus Poster

Graphic designer / photographer: David Versluis

This year the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus is scheduled to perform Mozart’s Requiem at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton, Iowa where the sound will resonate. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2015.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church was founded in 1870. The current church building was built in 1908 and for the most part the building remains much as it did when it was erected.

Among the many distinguishing characteristics of the interior are the wonderful stained glass windows made in Munich, Germany. The series of windows suggests a European classical charm.

I have developed a poster concept for the 2015 Oratorio Concert that utilizes as a background the rosette image from St Mary’s east semi-transept. It seems to be a fitting image for Mozart’s Requiem (The image has been darkened to contrast the poster text). The SCOC logo / identity was developed by Shelby Heerema, a graphic design student at Dordt College.

While St. Mary’s is not a true Christian church basilica, it nevertheless has Roman characteristics of a transept set crosswise to the nave and apse.

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New Work: AIGA South Dakota’s QUOTE THIS! art gallery show — Tis the season for graduation cakes.

This is Versluis’s piece for AIGA South Dakota’s QUOTE THIS! art gallery show. The QUOTE THIS! group exhibition features handmade typographic renderings of one’s favorite design quote. The show is now on view at the Sioux Falls Design Center from May–July 2013. Versluis’s piece is a photograph of a custom-ordered, hand-lettered graduation cake that honors a quote by designer Morton Goldsholl who once stated, “Bad Design is Useless and a Sham.”

About a year ago while spending Sabbatical time at Thirst (3st) I found this wonderful quote by Morton Goldsholl while studying one of Rick Valicenti’s fabulous sketchbooks. Valicenti had heard Mort make this statement:

And speaking more about Rick’s connection with Morton Goldsholl — here’s a recent designboom interview in which Valicenti responds to a question:

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? 

Something that I always remember was told to me by Morton Goldsholl, a Chicago design legend and student of Moholy Nagy’s first class at the New Bauhaus: on a rainy night some 30 years ago I drove to Mort’s office to meet the man with a friend, Michael Glass, and together we stood soaked, knocking at his front door. When he answered, we were both completely tongue tied. Out of panic, I asked, ‘If you could share any wisdom with two young designers what would it be?’ Mort answered with, ‘I have three words for you both – take a risk.’ Then he closed the door, and we left! (1)

1.  “Rick Valicenti (3st) Interview.” designboom. designboom.com, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 May 2013.

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New work: 2013 Sioux County Oratorio Chorus Poster

The 2013 Sioux County Oratorio Chorus performance poster
Graphic designer and photographer: David Versluis
Icon artist: Michelle L. Hofer
Size: 11 x 17 inches, 27.94 x 43.18 cm 

This year the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus is scheduled to perform Handel’s Messiah at Northwestern College’s Christ Chapel on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Dordt College alumna, Michelle Hofer (’98) developed this Messiah icon (after the Hagia Sophia’s Deësis Mosaic) as a 4' x 9' banner for her church in Freeman, South Dakota. The banner and image has an amazing environmental and liturgical presence. The piece is a textile mosaic comprised of thousands of multi-colored 9mm squares cut from iron-on fabrics and applied by hand onto shear purple fabric. Michelle’s banner was selected for Dordt’s 2012 “The Christian Evasion of Popular Culture” conference art exhibition.

In an exhibition interview about her work with icons Michelle states:

My artistic venture into religious imagery grew out of a trip to Istanbul, Turkey in 2001. Visiting some of the world’s oldest churches, the interiors of which are covered with beautiful and breathtaking images, had a profound impact on me. The work I’ve done with Christian icon images is quite personal, and many of the pieces in my show have become sources of deep spiritual strength, comfort and renewal – I carry them in my heart and mind always. 

The poster was printed by COLORFX in Boyden, Iowa.

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Envisioning Design | 2013 Conference at UNI

University of Northern Iowa 
Department of Art (Graphic Design)
ENVISIONING DESIGN Conference

Conference Schedule:
Friday, April 26, 7:00 pm
UNI, Kamerick Art Building, south lobby
Keynote speaker: Sang-Duck Seo
Sang-Duck Seo is the Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Media Department of Art, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Saturday, April 27
Presentations by participants throughout the day, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

A Call for Presentations:
The conference planning committee is seeking presentations, panel discussions, and other events. Proposals can address the widest range of aspects of graphic and other kinds of design, including (but not limited to) design history, design theory, design education, typography, design technology, design practice, ethics, sustainability, design as business, design and studio art, internship programs, portfolio preparation, job search — and the future of design.

For more information see Prof. Roy R. Behrens’s The Poetry of Sight

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Frank Gehry on working collaboratively as designers and artists

The Behrens|Versluis 2012 shared art project tried to promote and raise the notion of collaboration. Working artistically on projects together can be very rewarding yet very risky. As preeminent designer/artist Rick Valicenti has cautioned, “Only work with people you would have at your breakfast table.”

Two pieces from their collaborative montage series “Iowa Insects” have been selected for a juried regional art exhibit, Comedy of Errors sponsored by the Orange City Arts Council at the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center, Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. The works selected for recognition are “Beetle” (shown above) and “Cicada”. The show runs from 15 February to 23 February in conjunction with NWC’s performance of Shakespeare's farcical play, Comedy of Errors.

Speaking about the artistic collaborative process, here’s an excerpt that seems apropos, from the book Conversations with Frank Gehry.  The interviewer is Barbara Isenberg.

Gehry describes his working process as: after all the building program research, his favorite part is developing the design per se. At the same time, however, Gehry says, “It’s also the most scary part because it’s the unknown” and adds, “I start sketching and trying things until, all of the sudden, something emerges that becomes interesting and I sort of follow it. But it’s intuitive. It’s not preconceived. I don’t have an exact plan of action, and I always feel like I’m leaping off a cliff.”

Gehry further elaborates about working with others, “I collaborate with people on projects because it enriches the mix and gets you somewhere else that you wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise. When it’s really working, it is like holding hands and jumping off a cliff together.”(1)

As for jumping off a cliff together—hopefully you’re tethered to a bungee cord.

1. Isenberg, Barbara. Conversations with Frank Gehry. first ed. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. 154-55. Print.

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“The Prisoner”

To reform the Three Strikes Law in California, artist John August Swanson featured an image from his 1975 screen print tryptych titled “The Prisoner” for a postcard. The postcard is to help generate awareness and support for California Proposition 36, which is on the November 6th ballot. Proposition 36 would stop keeping non-violent people in prison for life and ensure justice and fair sentencing.

Voting yes would revise the three strikes law to impose life sentence only when the new felony conviction is serious, or violent, and authorizes re-sentencing for offenders currently serving life sentences.

“The Prisoner” is one of several early Swanson serigraphs that are currently on display at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. The collection is on loan from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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California Proposition 34

Pictured are two posters from a series of four produced by artist, activist, and peacemaker John August Swanson in support of California’s Proposition 34, abolishing the death penalty in that state.

Each poster represents depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus, with a message of transformation and hope.

Capital punishment is an issue that provokes strong opinions on both sides of the issue — empathizing with the grieving families of victims on the one hand while seeing the need for the fair treatment of those on death row and questioning the taking of another life, on the other.

Here in the Midwest I’m proud to say the state of Iowa does not have the death penalty. Several years ago (and to his credit) the former governor of Illinois, George Ryan instituted a moratorium on the death penalty after his administration became aware of how horribly flawed the justice system was for death row inmates.

We are all imperfect and our systems are blemished too. Jesus did say that the first person who is absolutely perfect can throw the first stone. John 7:53-8:11 NIV

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On display at Dordt College, John August Swanson’s art brings stories to life

SIOUX CENTER, IA – The Dordt College Department of Art and Design presents the Richard and Helen DeVos Collection of The Art of John August Swanson, an exhibit of original, hand-pulled serigraphs by Los Angles based master printmaker John Swanson. The collection will be on display in the Dordt College Campus Center Art Gallery from October 10 to December 1.

A master printmaker of serigraphs, lithographs, and etchings, Swanson’s art is about “bringing stories to life.” His creative vision reflects the gift of storytelling he inherited from his Mexican mother and Swedish father. Influenced by the imagery of Persian and medieval miniatures, the tradition of Orthodox iconography, Swedish and Latin American folk art, as well as Diego Rivera and the Mexican muralists, Swanson’s beautiful narrative art explores human values, cultural and religious roots, and his ongoing quest for self-discovery through the visual.

Using up to 89 color stencils to print one serigraph, John expertly utilizes his medium to create rich, images that are filled with great beauty, mystery, and meaning. The serigraphs are unique examples of how art can visually preach the Word and offer creative insight into biblical stories and their meanings. His art brings these familiar stories to life in new and inspiring ways as visual parables of our everyday lives.

Swanson draws viewers into stories that show how everyday lives are filled with God’s love and presence. His work shows that the sacred permeates the ordinary.

In addition, some of Swanson’s earliest screen prints and posters will be on display in the Ribbens Academic Complex lobby and hallway near the Dordt College art department. These early pieces show the strong influence of Corita Kent, a mentor of Swanson’s who is highly respected for her colorful calligraphy and silk screens.

The public is also invited to attend the opening of the DeVos Collection Exhibition and Gallery Tour hosted by John Swanson on Wednesday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m.

On Thursday, October 11, from 4 to 5 p.m. Janaan Manternach of Dubuque Iowa will present “The Art and Vision of John August Swanson.” Manternach is a collector of Swanson’s work and, with her deceased husband Carl J. Pfeifer, founded Life, Love, Joy, Associates and has written numerous religious education textbooks, columns, articles, and books.

Then again on Thursday evening, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Swanson will present “Seeing the Sacred in the Ordinary.” Both events will be held in SB101.

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Steve Prince’s “One Fish: Old Testament” art exhibit on display at Dordt College

Psalm I: Slow Dance, Linoleum cut, 18 inches x 24 inches, from the Old Testament Series
Image courtesy of Eyekons Gallery © Steve A. Prince

Information from Dordt's news release:

For Steve Prince, art is a tool used to battle social issues like violence, racism, and injustice. His art is “a conduit of God’s grace, helping people make sense of their lives and realize that their actions have consequences,” said Prince. “There are a lot of things we haven’t dealt with in our souls, so I like to deal with them in my artwork.” The result is art that is interwoven with social metaphors and symbolic messages.

Prince has brought “One Fish: Old Testament” to Dordt College. The exhibit is housed in the college’s Campus Center Art Gallery and in the Ribbens Academic Complex art galleries through October 2, and features recent artwork including drawings and linocuts. The public is invited to enjoy the exhibit free of charge daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Indicative of Prince’s work, the exhibit is filled with images that show his incredible imagination and drawing abilities. “Old Testament” is a “love series” that is metaphorically inspired by the Bible, says Dordt College art professor and gallery coordinator David Versluis. In much of his work, Prince visually interprets the biblical narrative and gives it a fresh context in a contemporary and urban framework.

Founder of One Fish Studio based in Silver Spring, Maryland, Prince is an artist, educator, and art evangelist. Having grown up in New Orleans, Prince allows the city’s rich traditions in art, music, and religion to pulsate through his work. He says, “The concept of One Fish Studio is derived from Matthew 4:19, when Christ said, ‘follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

Prince’s faith calls him to be an artist; his work is an unending exploration of that faith and its relationship to his life, his culture, and his community. “We are all living epistles, whether we want to be or not,” said Prince. He will expound on some of these themes when he comes to campus on Sunday and Monday, September 2 and 3.

An exhibit reception will be held on Sunday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with an artist talk at 8. He will also speak Monday at 11 a.m. in the B.J. Haan Auditorium as the first in a series of First Mondays Speakers.

The public is also welcome to participate in a Watercolor Callagraphy Workshop on Monday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

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Thirst / 3st posters on display at Dordt College

The Dordt College Department of Art and Design is currently featuring poster designs created by the Chicago-based design studio, Thirst.

The exhibit is currently on display in the Dordt College Art Gallery located inside the Campus Center, and it will run through July 15. The public is welcome to enjoy the exhibit free of charge Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Founder of Thirst and Graphic Designer Rick Valicenti has shared a sampling of posters that span the company’s nearly 25-year history including the 2011 Show Boat poster which is part of the seminal Lyric Opera of Chicago poster series, a decade of Illinois Institute of Design College of Architecture Lecture series posters, and the internationally acclaimed LOEB posters for Harvard’s Graduate Students of Design.

The exhibition was assembled by art (graphic design) professor David Versluis who spent the spring semester on sabbatical in Chicago working at Thirst. “This is the largest collection of Thirst’s posters outside of their studio,” said Versluis. “Viewers seem to be keenly aware that this exhibition is smart and special with exceptional imagination. Each poster has high visual impact while collectively this body of work is stunning.”

Valicenti has been influencing design internationally since 1988. He is a leader in design, taking on roles of practitioner, educator, and mentor.

In John Foster’s book New Masters of Poster Design, Valicenti says, “The best part of designing a poster is the hardest part of designing a poster—deciding what to actually print. Unlike when designing a catalog or book, the designer has but one page to express the program, the event, or the system, not 32 or 332 pages! I thoroughly enjoy the challenge.”

In 2011, Valicenti was awarded the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Communication Design, an honor designated by the White House. The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) honored Valicenti the Medal in 2006, the highest honor of the graphic design profession, for his sustained contribution to design excellence and the development of the profession. He was recognized as an AIGA/Chicago Fellow in 2004 and has been a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since being invited in 1996.

Valicenti has juried the President’s Design Awards for the National Endowment for the Arts during the George H.W. Bush and William Clinton Administrations. Valicenti also serves on the Board of Directors of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been published in major graphic design publications including Eye.06 (London), Émigré (twice) and Idea (in Tokyo). His book, Emotion as Promotion, was published by Monacelli Press in 2005.

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New work: The 2012 Sioux County Oratorio Chorus Poster

Graphic designer: David Versluis 

This year the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus is scheduled to perform Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Northwestern College’s Christ Chapel on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

The visual impact of this year’s poster is the typographic boldness of Elijah’s name along with the fire image. These design elements were inspired by the Elijah story (1 Kings 18: 38-39) where the water-saturated altar and sacrifice is instantaneously consumed by fire. The event is a powerful testament to the power of the Yahweh.

The poster was designed by David Versluis and printed by Demco Printing Company in Boyden, Iowa.

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Chicago Pierscape Project: notes from team !melk’s public conversation at AIA Chicago—Monday 20 February 2012

Pictured above are artist’s views of team !melk’s Great Pier Project.

Jerry van Eyck was the principal presenter of team !melk’s proposal at the AIA Chicago last Monday evening. The presentation was an informal encore gathering.

In essence design team !melk’s proposal reiterates the City of Chicago’s motto: Urbs in Horto (“City in a Garden”) that correlates nicely to a cleaner, greener, sustainable city environment.

Principal designer Jerry van Eyck, co-founder of !melk flew in from New York City on Monday afternoon to discuss and synthesize the Chicago Pierscape Project proposal. Around 100 people came out for the event. Jerry, who is the point person for team !melk, opened the meeting at AIA Chicago by asking the question, “What is authentic architecture in Chicago?” For van Eyck a primary focus for the New Navy Pier was expressing the exceptional geology and iconic relationship of Lake Michigan to the city of Chicago. Team !melk members attending the meeting gave brief summaries of their ideas and their specific contributions to the project. They all seemed to view the New Pier as a grand gesture to developing inclusive art and an authentic public space in Chicago.

Water is the main feature of the proposal and the objective is to utilize the water approach in a visible and artistic way. The design is based on the analogies of the flow of water or watery surfaces and enlivening public space by “getting down to the water.” Van Eyck and other team members expressed emotional responses to water with such words and phrases as “rhythmical movement in waves,” “rippled concentric patterns,” “undulations,” “surges of activity,” “bursts of feeling,” and “oscillations of energy.”

Van Eyck emphasized that team !melk’s design was influenced by the principles of Charles Jencks, architectural theorist, landscape architect and designer of “Garden of Cosmic Speculation.” According to his website, Jencks is “known for his books questioning Modern architecture and defining its successors—Late, Neo and Post-Modern architecture.”

Charles Jencks writes:

To see the world in a Grain of Sand, the poetic insight of William Blake, is to find relationships between the big and small, science and spirituality, the universe and the landscape. This cosmic setting provides the narrative for my content-driven work, the writing and design. I explore metaphors that underlie both growing nature and the laws of nature, parallels that root us personally in the cosmos as firmly as a plant, even while our mind escapes this home. 

The Pier is where the primordial elements of land and water meet with the built environment. The complete proposal could be thought about as a garden design based on natural and scientific processes to achieve a celebration of nature and life. In many ways the team !melk proposal reflects van Eyck’s Dutch sensibility of reclaiming land from the sea—just like a celebration of the polderlands and water in the Netherlands.

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Team !Melk—“The New Navy Pier: Design Team Search”

An important design event…

A blue ribbon panel has selected five finalists vying for “The New Navy Pier Project: Design Team Search.” The displays of each design team are currently on view at the Chicago Architectural Foundation located at 224 S. Michigan Avenue. !Melk, HOK and UrbanLab invited Thirst to be a member of Team !Melk as the graphic communications consultant. On Monday evening one of the finalists, namely Team !Melk, will conduct an open colloquium. The gathering will be a conversation with members of the Team focusing on their Great Pier collaboration. The event will be held on 20 February from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at AIA Chicago, 35 East Wacker Drive / Suite 250.

Members of Team !Melk are: !Melk / UrbanLab / HOK / Thirst / Terry Guen / Zoë Ryan / Conservation Design Forum.

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Dordt’s Campus Center Art Gallery features Canadian-inspired landscapes—Chris Stoffel Overvoorde: “The Alberta Drawings”

Above image:  Looking North From Highway 3, Near Fort Mcleod, Alberta, 1993.
Twenty-five pieces from The Alberta Drawings collection are on loan from the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM). Image: © Chris Stoffel Overvoorde / GRAM

This is from a Dordt College News Release:

“I was called to be a Christian, and the best way I know how to be a Christian is to be an artist,” said Chris Stoffel Overvoorde of his work.  

Overvoorde is an artist and professor emeritus who has brought his artistic vision to the campus of Dordt College. On display in the Campus Center Art Gallery through January 27. The artwork on display is from his collection titled The Alberta Drawings. All of the pieces in this series were created in a square format on paper, which presented a unique challenge because of the natural horizontal format of the landscape itself. The contrast illustrates the unnatural ways that man has superimposed himself on nature. 

Inspired by the wide-open spaces of the Canadian prairie, Overvoorde made several trips to Alberta while creating his oil sketches, watercolors, and drawings. “When you stand in a field of grain, and you see nothing else for miles but a faint distant horizon, you get a new perspective on who you are in relation to nature and how you are related to God,” he said.  

Overvoorde studied at Kendall College of Art and Design and at the University of Michigan. He has studied printmaking and painting with such well-known artists as Harry Brorby, Frank Cassara, Emil Weddige, and Bill Lewis. He has received more than 40 awards and has had over 50 solo exhibits in the United States, Canada, and The Netherlands. In addition to his work as artist, Overvoorde has worked as an art professor at Calvin College and as artist-in-residence in collaboration with the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.  

Dordt College’s art faculty is especially pleased to welcome Overvoorde. “Both Jake Van Wyk and I had Chris Overvoorde as a teacher at Calvin College when we were undergraduates there,” said David Versluis, professor of art at Dordt College. “Chris was a very important mentor for both of us.” 

In addition to The Alberta Drawings, four pieces from the “Prophet, Priest, and King” series from the Dordt College Permanent Collection will be displayed just outside the gallery.

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A new book release from Bobolink Books: “Ship Shape: A Dazzle Camouflage Sourcebook”

Cover image is courtesy of Bobolink Books

The subject of camouflage is multifaceted and holds a fascination for many people. For nearly thirty years Roy R. Behrens, writer, scholar, graphic designer and professor at the University of Northern Iowa, has become a leading authority on the relationship (the confluence) of art and camouflage. Professor Behrens’s newest publication, titled Ship Shape, is about World War I dazzle ship camouflage. The book is a compelling anthology of vintage essays, illustrations, and anecdotes discussing the theory of dazzle ship camouflage as a military strategy for optical confusion techniques and its correlation to art, graphic design, physics, and the natural sciences. When you looked at a dazzle camouflaged ship through the periscope of a menacing submarine you saw visual (figure & ground) ambiguity and uncertainty. Behrens is the editor and graphic designer of the book, published by Bobolink Books, Dysart, Iowa.

With this publication Behrens cleverly draws back the curtain to show readers some of the primary sources that he has referenced in his numerous public presentations and acclaimed publications on ship camouflage. This publication is the most comprehensive sourcebook about dazzle camouflage while the bibliography for further reading is impressively extensive. As Roy writes in the preface, “My own way of managing all this [material] is to pretend that I am witnessing in the pages — one could say, historically eavesdropping on — the ‘chatter’ of an era when ship camouflage was the subject of fervently heated exchanges — along with cubism, jazz, women’s suffrage, prohibition, costume parties, and baseball.” Ship Shape is specifically about dazzle ship camouflage with selections written during the World War I era. The exception to this is a delightful chapter on camouflage miscellany titled “Jazz, baseball, booze, and dazzle balls,” which is a collection, a “medley” as Behrens calls them of camouflage and popular culture. These written bits and pieces are also from the World War I period.

Obviously, when reading material from an earlier era the writing style can often highlight certain idioms and mannerisms, which now seem interestingly amusing. However, it becomes apparent in reading Ship Shape that the early pioneers of dazzle camouflage were highly motivated through their research and convictions that applying dazzle camouflage to cargo and troop ships in wartime could unquestionably help save human lives and cargo from sly enemy submarine torpedoes. Perhaps an analogy might be that the World War I camoufleurs were like the biblical character Noah who built an enormous “life boat” as a place of safety from impending doom.

As with all of Behrens’s books, Ship Shape is instructive and entertaining. As you read the essays, the editor’s comments, and look at the illustrations you will always find a new perspective. This book can be characterized by it’s many salient features. For instance, the photographs highlighting British painter Edward Wadsworth are stunning and alone are worth the cost of the book.

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