The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Performing and Visual Arts held the opening reception for Daredevils Under Pressure, an art exhibit featuring letterpress-printing, on Nov. 7 in gallery 217 on the second floor of the Don Taft University Center.
The free exhibit, which will be on display until Dec. 2, includes a series of prints and photographs created by book artist Jessica Spring. There are also works by 11 professors who attended a letter pressing workshop Spring hosted.
Spring hopes that people will look at art in a new way — that books aren’t just books and can be works of art. She wants people see the play on words as well as peel back the layers of the art on display, and think outside the box.
“I hope that people have just as much fun looking at the art as I had doing it, especially the technical things that involve using a black light and creating the structure of the art,” she said. “People don’t seem to think that artists write but I like to include writing in my art to give the viewer a deeper understanding.”
Spring taught a class for NSU faculty on book art for participants to learn how to use letter pressing, and they took an old-fashioned printing press to create works of art out of words.
Spring said that she a lot of fun having faculty members as her students.
“They had a great time doing the work on their own. They were so dedicated that they stayed up all night printing up their pieces,” she said.
The exhibit features art that glows under black light, sculptures created from books, and art created by Spring’s students, as well as pictures of the process they took to create the art.
Spring made her own ink and her own paper specifically for the letter press, taking about six months to create the art.
Brittany Maragl, sophomore biology major, really enjoyed how she was able to interact with the displays and gain a new perspective.
She said, “Usually, when I look at art, it doesn’t really affect me all that much, but the fact that I was able interact with the black light art made me wonder, ‘How did they do that?’ It was a very inventive new type of art that kept me thinking about the quotes and stories that the artists used in their works.”
Freshman art major Ariel Pittsinger said the creations were very unique. What caught her eye most were the variety of colors and the students’works.
“You have to figure out why it is dark in a particular area, and once you shine the black light on the pictures, the colors of the pictures just pop out at you,” Pittsinger. “I also loved how the students’ art said little things about themselves.”
Pittsinger particularly liked a quirky piece that incorporated the words “ain’t nobody got time for that.”
“It brings a modern edge to art that everybody can relate to, but it also made me laugh,” Pittsinger said. “It is a common saying that I hear all the time, so seeing something like that in art brings comical entertainment to the piece. It gave me the feeling that art doesn’t always have to be taken seriously.”
Professor of music and Director of the Division of Performing and Visual Arts Michael Caldwell said that art can be interpreted in many different ways. Looking at the different pieces, he could not pick out a favorite, as he felt that each expressed a unique message.
“This is a fun and delightful way to excite the different senses to find the hidden message that” lies within the art,” he said. “The one great thing about art is that there is always room for more appreciation and that every time I look at the art, I am always finding something new about it. Looking at it helps one relate to the world and it is very intriguing that the artists took old techniques and refinished them into something new.”
Senior studio art major Kate Allen appreciated the pieces for mixing tradition with modern styles.
“Doing this type of art seems like it would be a lot of fun, but definitely challenging.,” Allen said. “I like how the art is created with traditional printing press but looks like modern art.”
Daredevils Under Pressure will be open every weekday 5:30 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 954-262-7620.
