Author: Claire Diggins
Weingart opened its gallery doors on Sept. 9 for the first time this semester with an exhibit of works from 15 California artists, entitled “Expanding the Matrix.” “Expanding the Matrix” is an exhibit that Art History and the Visual Arts professor Linda Lyke cultivated in order to explore the language of printmaking. The show features artists who work with alternative methods of printmaking. Each artist on display has found an innovative means of expression through the printmaking medium.
Traditionally, printmaking is dependent on the use of a single “master-plate” known as the matrix, which the artist uses to create multiples of an image. This show exhibits works which expand upon the traditional printmaking methods, reinterpreting relief, lithography and etching using the disciplines of drawing, digital imaging, photography and installation.
This interdisciplinary adaptation of printmaking allows each artist’s work to speak clearly. One artist, for instance, placed her matrix – a stamp of the word mother – discretely over a beautiful drawing of her mother. The stamp is nearly invisible, but the woman’s maternal presence is undeniable.
Professor Lyke, along with Weingart curator and manager Jason Manley, reviewed pieces from 45 artists in the California area, most of whom found out about the show through the Los Angeles Printmaking Society. The 15 artists featured in the show, some of whom have previously had pieces in Weingart, were solicited because their work would be in line with the theme of the show.
One such artist was Jeanne Lorenz, an artist based in Canyon, CA who worked with Occidental last year as an exhibited artist. Her featured pieces in this exhibit include cherry red images of old vinyl records printed with her handmade labels. Her works are displayed across one another in large squares in the east gallery, surprising visitors with a giant smattering of red ink upon entering the room. The vibrant colored squares, each with a smaller image printed inside, align to create 6×6-foot squares on either wall, and demand attention.
She uses vinyl records gifted to her by people who are willing, she says, to throw away their old technology, and covers them in red ink. She then prints them in her press with her homemade labels to create the image we see on each square. Her labels are inspired by real record labels and reworked in a humorous and wry way. One label she found was for a record titled “Blessed is the Man.” She added, “Produced by: The Man.”
Her pieces address capitalism and the basic human desire for novelty. By melding the different mediums of vinyl, ink and digital imaging through printmaking, Lorenz was able to clearly and intellectually express a cultural phenomenon. Her recycling of old records – once treasure now left for trash – articulates a trend of consumption and waste in our society. Through witty rewording of record labels, which both mock and critique modern life, she creates new treasures for us to enjoy. Manley says “Expanding the Matrix” and other shows at Weingart “are a good way for students to see art they otherwise would not. Our goal is to bridge the art scene here at Occidental with the vast art scene that exists in Los Angeles and right here in Eagle Rock.”
The Weingart Art Gallery, which is free and open to the public, is an incredible resource for our Occidental and Eagle Rock community, allowing artists, students and individuals to share art and gain exposure to the world of art around us. It is also a great forum for Oxy art students to exhibit their work in the public forum.
The entire collection of works bleeds together beautifully, ranging from self-portraits, to political statements, to complete abstractions. Some of the pieces are printed on silk, others on leather, on paper or even on tiny bits of shrink film emerging three dimensionally from the wall. Both Manley and Lyke agreed that students and artists learn the most from looking, from actually seeing art in person, and the gallery shows at Weingart provide our community with just this, the ability to look at art.
“Expanding the Matrix” will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays in the Weingart Gallery through Oct. 15. Even if you missed the gallery opening (which included an incredible array of wine, cheese, chocolates, art and artists), do not miss the exhibit. It is a great introduction to the world of printmaking art, as well as the art scene we live right in the middle of in Los Angeles.
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