For the Masses

January 20 - March 25, 2018

FOR THE MASSES

Exhibition Date: January 20, 2018 to March 25, 2018
Reception Date: Saturday, January 20, 2018 - 2:00pm

This quarter, the Museum of Northwest Art will focus on storytelling in and through art. How can we tell stories through art? How does art spread messages or statements? How many different stories exist in one artwork? In a Ted Talk entitled 2600 Years of History in One Object, Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, described that all objects have a life that is initiated when they are created, and they often outlive the creator. Through their lives, objects also have multiple biographies that relate to current events, people and cultural trends. As we look deeper into the Winter exhibits, let’s think about the different stories told by the artists and lived by the objects.

Kate Sweeney, *Dolly Totems (Gut Feeling, Ponytail, Hunch and Flyaway)*, 2007, Suite of four hand-cut intaglios, 20” x 16” (each), 28.5” x 53”
2008.178.014, MoNA, gift of Elizabeth Tapper

The exhibit begins in the 1930s with well-respected printmaker, Helen Loggie. Loggie attended the Arts Students League of New York and then toured Europe to study art further. She returned with many sketches with European scenes, specifically cathedrals. When she returned to the United States, Loggie moved to Eastsound on Orcas Island in 1930 and shifted her focus to the Northwest’s version of a cathedral: the trees. MoNA only has three of Loggie’s prints in the Permanent Collection, but all will be on display in this exhibit to serve as a statement of her importance to printmaking in the Northwest and the United States.

For the Masses will also present new acquisitions, including prints by James Lavadour, Lillian Pitt and Joe Feddersen.

Michael Felber, *Portrait of a Brown Pelican*, 1985, Etching (ed. 42/300), 19” x 14.75”
2016.531.005, MoNA, gift of Michael Felber

Lockwood Dennis, *Pier 62, 63*, Woodblock print (ed. 6/7), 15” x 12”
2013.325.254, MoNA, gift of The Lockwood Dennis Family Art Estate

For the Masses is MoNA’s first Permanent Collection exhibit solely devoted to prints and printmaking, and will include old favorites and new acquisitions. The title is derived from the concept of prints as a populist and egalitarian form of artmaking and viewing. By their nature, prints need to be graphic and easy to understand. From the very beginning of printmaking, prints have been used to spread ideas and news amongst the public. For the Masses will explore this medium in the Northwest, and includes illustrations by exhibitions intern Stephanie Lark to help guests understand several processes used by the artists to make the various types of prints.