by Lightmary Flores '17
Hanging over the Wardman Gym lobby gallery is a collaborative art project that unscrolls and presents the political narrative of global immigration and migration. Through Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Sandy de Lissovoy’s JanTerm Printmaking Workshop, students were able to create interpretive works of art that spoke to current global events.
Lissovoy encouraged students to delve into contemporary political events by devoting course time to discussing academic articles that explore the topic of immigration and refugee policy. “I really meant to be as hands off as possible in the way the content was generated so I provided sources that students could provide their own responses to,” Lissovoy said. “I always try to tie in my art courses with current events but this is the first time we have done a project like this.”
Individual students created print plates that drew on a variety of different topics, including the immigration issues surrounding the U.S. Mexico Border and Syrian refugees. There was also a focus on overt commentary about current events, such as a protest sign with a slash through the face of Donald Trump.
Art projects also cover subjects surrounding personal histories of the students’ own ancestral migration or where their families are from. “There is this poetic enlargement to this idea of migration that persists throughout all these works with the inclusion of animals circulating around the world,” said Lissovoy. “There are butterflies and the orca killer whale symbolizing the wave of migration.”
History major Elsa Huchim '17 explained the meaning behind the collaborative print scroll that consisted of three visual elements: a border that went all the way through it, the pencil that drew it and the eraser that diminished these borders.
“We have pencil to reflect the idea that borders are drawn and physically built so that we understand that they are essentially socially constructed,” Huchim said.
“We then see these figures in black that represent those in power that own the social construction that orchestrates this pencil that is creating these borders. If we talk about countries from a global perspective, we see the intersection of factors, such as economy, safety and nature. We see dolphins that represent the migration of nature and insects that represent the migration of environment and disease. We see that all of these factors lead to the diminishing of these physically drawn borders.”
Political Science major Maria De Jesus Rodriguez '17 shared the narrative behind her individual print piece titled Living on the edge of war. “My plate depicts a tearful young girl representing the Syrian civil war which is part of the reason they had to leave,” Rodriguez said. “The three stars on the bombs coming down represent the Syrian flag. This was a very exciting project in that it allowed us to express these socio-political issues through art.”
Lissovoy discusses the importance of teaching art through an interdisciplinary approach. “It is always a little tricky to get people to collaborate on one thing, but this seemed a natural way for many many voices to be involved,” Lissovoy said. “This is not a single epic opera conducted by one person but a collaborative and a very democratic way of looking at print. I think that it is important to discuss these topics not just because it is important to develop engaged citizens but also because these issues brought so many hands and minds together.”
This contemporary print is currently on display and will be viewable for the first two weeks of the Spring semester at the Wardman Gym lobby.
