Spring Break
Political prints inspire conversation
Danielle Calkins
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Arts & Lifestyle
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The exhibition showcases politically-themed print art in hopes of inspiring political conversation among viewers.
Senior Matt Overton was one of the students selected to display his artwork as part of the juried show section of the exhibition. As a major in graphic design with a minor in multimedia, the exhibit was a great opportunity for Overton. This being his first exhibit, Overton said he was extremely excited to find out his work had been selected.
"The experience was great, and it was an honor to have my work selected and surrounded by other students' pieces," Overton said.
Overton hopes some of the artwork may change students' perspectives on different social and political problems. If anything, the different takes and styles used in the print work are enough to be appreciated.
Anyone could have submitted work for the exhibit; the only stipulation was that the piece had to be completed on paper in some form.
The juried show gave students and faculty members admitting work the chance to be critiqued by an outside artist with no affiliation with the school.
Lisa Hecht, teacher at UW-Milwaukee, was a juror for the student section of the Paper Politics in the Crossman Gallery. Hecht was thrilled to see the variety of student work, as some images were visually confrontational while others were more subtle.
"When I came to jury the student component of the Paper Politics show at the Crossman Gallery, I was very interested in the range of subject matter that the students addressed in their own work," Hecht said. "The idea of politics went beyond looking at the U.S. government policy."
Hecht also participated in the Milwaukee component of the show at the Walker's Point Art Center, where the exhibit had previously been displayed.
The Crossman Gallery is the seventh stop for the exhibit. The works have traveled to Chicago, Seattle, Brooklyn, Portland and Montreal over the past three years. The show is based on a do-it-yourself culture, networking artists and communities all around. It is the vision of curator Josh MacPhee.
The exhibit brought in work from Colin Matthes, a UW-Whitewater alum nus who is currently a part of the faculty on campus. He first became involved with the event when MacPhee came up with the idea of a Paper Politics show in Chicago as a fundraiser for another project, Street Art Workers. Matthes hopes the exhibit will inspire students.
"Beyond encouraging students to explore printmaking, I hope students will feel empowered to use their art to advocate for social justice," Matthes said.
Matthes says his favorite aspect of the show is that it's not based on one image or artist. With more than 200 prints, the show has a wide variety.
"The show is about many voices and viewpoints." Matthes said.
Paper Politics will be on display until Nov. 17. For more information contact artist and lecturer Michael Flanagan at (262) 472-5708.
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