Kennedy Museum exhibits first exclusively print portfolio show
By Terry O'Donovan, Assistant Entertainment Editor
April 12, 2008 | 6:14 p.m.
Selections from Ohio University’s collection of prints are on display through June 29 in an exhibit titled "Portfolios and Suites from the Print Collection" at the Kennedy Museum of Art, located in Lin Hall at the Ridges.
An official public opening will take place at 6 p.m. this Saturday, April 12 at the museum. The exhibit breaks new ground for the university.
"This is the first show we've had that concentrates exclusively on print portfolios and suites," said Jeff Carr, museum registrar and preparator.
For the uninitiated, prints are reproductions of an artist's work that are produced and released in editions by a publishing house or individual printmaker. Prints are not considered copies, however.
"Prints are multiples, but they're also all originals," said Sally Delgado, curator of education at the Kennedy Museum. The act of printmaking is an artistic endeavor in and of itself, and no two prints can be exactly alike.
Printmakers often will release prints in sets, called either portfolios or suites.
"There's no real difference between the two names," Carr said. "It's just whatever the publisher wanted to call it."
Individual prints within a portfolio or suite can be related in a number of different ways, but the fact that they are, indeed, a set is important to remember.
"Sometimes the prints will be from a single artist, and they’ll hang together thematically and stylistically," Carr said. "Other times they’re from different artists with a wide lateral of difference, but they’re still meant to hang together."
Henry Lin, dean of the College of Fine Arts from 1971 to 1984, initiated the university's current collection, which holds 44 sets. Only 14 of those sets (101 prints total) are on physical display at the exhibit, which spans three galleries and the main corridor. The full collection will be made available digitally via computer kiosks located in the exhibit space.
The actual prints vary widely in style, ranging from the minimalist to the grandiose.
Influential British artist David Hockney’s "Pool Suite," published in 1980, is immediately eye-catching. The set shows various takes on the same swimming pool, each with slight variations of color. The repetition is grabbing, and the progressive variations lead to a strong pull down the length of the wall.
Well-known abstract artist Brice Marden's minimalist "Focus Suite," also from 1980, displays similar characteristics. A single, window-shaped object is varied slightly from print to print in the black and white set.
"Year of the Drowned Dog," printed in 1983 and created by Eric Fishel, appears as one print but is actually a set of prints collaged together to make one image of a dramatic beach scene. Fishel's art often contains strains of voyeurism.
Blurred images of protest and social unrest are depicted in Juan Genovés' "Silencio, Silencio." Vibrant abstractions abound in Pat Steir's "From-Suite of Three."
One suite in particular is of local importance. "Photographs and Etchings," produced in 1969, is a collaboration set of Neo-Dadaist Jim Dine and Lee Friedlander. Dine received a BFA from OU in 1957. The suite pairs photographs with sketched imagery, including trademark Dine symbols such as hearts.
Overall, Delgado is excited about the exhibit.
"Some of this material hasn't been displayed in a long time," she said. "We originally wanted to pick out single prints from sets so we could display a wider variety, but the choice was made to exhibit fewer and keep the sets together."
The opening on Saturday will feature food and drink, as well as some remarks from the museum's director.
"We're hoping to get a pretty good turnout, though," Carr said, "so I'm sure he'll keep it short."
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