Drury Brennan, Die Welt
Untitled, (legal tender) — partial image:
Monumental site-specific hand-lettered calligraphy installation
Gouache and acrylic
Chicago Cultural Center, 2014
Untitled (legal tender) partial image:
Black Friday. Best Interests. Special Treatment. Privileges. The Awful Truth. Domestic Terrorism. To Serve And Protect. Black on Black on black-on-black on Black on black on Black. Private. Violations. Inside Job. Self-Defense. Health care. Axis of Evil. Stay ignorant, keep silent. Fit the profile. Vigilance. Hopeless situation Undesirables. Colored Silence. Hand Over Fist. A’merican Dreams built on new, quick schemes. Sleight of hand Out of hand. Merciless. 011 & Gas + Oil + Gas n’ Urri n Gash n + Carry. Homeland Security. Overnight Celebrity. Fly like an eagle. Eco-Friendly Packaging. Convenience charges. Bless your little heart. Uppity. At-Risk Youth. Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.Testy. No objection. White devils. Victim of circumstance. It’s just so unfortunate. Homicide. Accident. A right to life. Debt. Aging. Debt. Again. Debt. Aging. Debt. Again. Bet. Against. House. Bet. Vet. Debt. Aging. Debt. What have we learned? Who has learned? Have you learned? Who teaches? Who speaks for you? Silence.
Forgiveness Takes Everything And Nothing partial image:
War is not healthy for children and other living things.©
The war inside ourselves remains the critical conflict of our times, over and over again.
Can you truly accept that other beings are the same as you? Stop the wars.
Friday, January 15, 2016
Drury Brennan, “Die Welt” — Chicago Cultural Center, 2014
Monday, December 14, 2015
David Versluis’s new work: “a little bit of cathedral in it”
David Versluis and Nelson Wynia
“a little bit of cathedral in it”
2015
15'H x 10'W x 1'D
Welded aluminum, powder coated chrome
Aluminum skeletons from Kooima Laser Cutting
Dordt College Commission and Permanent Collection—Science Building Addition. Photographs by Carl Fictorie ©2015
The design and title of this piece is inspired and responds to this quote by engineer and writer Samuel Florman:
“Not only cathedrals, but every great engineering work is an expression of motivation and of purpose which cannot be divorced from religious implications. This truth provides the engineer with what many would assert to be the ultimate existential pleasure.
I do not want to get carried away with this point. The age of cathedral building is long past. And, as I have already said, less than one quarter of today’s engineers are engaged in construction activities of any sort. But every man-made structure, no matter how mundane has a little bit of cathedral in it, since man [humankind] cannot help but transcend himself as soon as he begins to design and construct.”(1)
- Florman, Samuel C. The Existential Pleasures of Engineering. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1996. 125. Print.
L: David Versluis (designer) and Nelson Wynia (welder) installing hanging brackets and five foot x ten foot aluminum panels. Read More......
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
David Versluis’s new work: Tectonic Tower Maquette
David M. Versluis ©2015
Tectonic Tower Maquette
Welded aluminum, powder coated chrome
2015
14.5"H x 9"W x 5"D
Photography by Doug Burg
This piece is a response to the transitional tectonics and nature of the cultural landscape. Contour lines angle and change directions to form an architecture of triangular shapes or plates. These plates stack, layer, and off-set to suggest a balanced or unbalanced structure depending on your perspective—the whole piece becomes richer than the sum of individual parts. The imperfection of the welds and reflective surface help viewers to focus on their experience.
This piece is to some extent inspired by Herbert Bayer’s Leaning Spiral Tower. However, ironically, this piece seems to suggests a kind of:
“transautomatism”, which was a term used by artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser Regentag (1928–2000)(1).
- Calvin Seerveld, Setting Things Right, CIVA Seen, 2013. 5.
Read More......
Thursday, November 19, 2015
“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.
Monday, November 9, 2015
A Dordt College Graphic Design III studio project
© Emily Visser. Poster Design
2015
11 x 17 inches.
A Dordt College Graphic Design 3 studio project.
Background is a soft ground intaglio print produced by the designer.
Emily Visser is a Dordt College junior student.
“If you haven't found it yet, keep looking.”
—Quote by Steve Jobs
Saturday, November 7, 2015
“Accentuating Architecture: A Dordt College Architectural Alumni Exhibition”
Photograph by versluis ©2015
Dordt College is hosting its first design show in the Campus Center Art Gallery. The exhibit, titled “Accentuating Architecture: A Dordt College Architectural Alumni Exhibition”, will be displayed October 9 – November 9. Exhibit curator John Den Boer will deliver a gallery talk at 4:00 during the show’s reception from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on October 24.
Art Professor David Versluis, advisor for the pre-architecture program and art gallery coordinator, will be arranging the gallery installation. The exhibit will feature the architectural designs of:
- John Den Boer (’00), Tower Pinkster AE, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Jon Dykstra (’06), Alliiance, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Kevin Zandberg (’92), MJSA Architects, Salt Lake City, Utah
The exhibition, celebrating 60 years of Dordt alumni during Dordt’s 60th anniversary year, also aims to help viewers consider why buildings are the way they are. The projects displayed in the exhibition demonstrate architectural design on various levels. Versluis and Den Boer hope the show fosters a deeper appreciation for the built environment and gives viewers a better idea of the role of the architect.
“Architecture means many things to many people,” says Den Boer. “Many see it as the intersection of art and science. It is a profession that concerns itself with community and inspiring people to be the best versions of themselves while simultaneously focusing on getting the smallest of details right. Architects have a duty to design functional, practical, but also beautiful buildings. Likewise, Christian architects have a duty to serve others and glorify God.”
Information taken from the Dordt College News Release. Read More......
