The Lamson Library and Learning Commons welcomes the work of Illinois printmaker, Kurt Brian Webb, and his woodcut series War — Dance of Death in Black, White and Blood Red All Over.
Webb’s woodcuts create social commentary that provokes the viewer through humor, satire, and cynicism. This particular display uses images of soldiers unknowingly intermingling with malevolent skeletal figures. Each two-color print is printed directly from a woodblock onto Japanese paper and is superimposed over a contemporary news story relating to death and the war in Iraq.
Mr. Webb visited the Art Department to share thoughts about his work, subjects, process, and content.
2 Comments
It is so great to finally see ALL the individual prints together in this series in one showing. It was also good to see all the students at the opening. I hope this exhibit prompts critical discussion on the Iraq war.
I think this work as a series captured the theme really well. Each piece is very bold with a simple message (besides the fact that anyone could find different specific meanings for each piece) and so the series as a whole gets a good grasp on the very complex issues of the war.
I would really love to see more work because I was very interested in the other projects he showed quickly in his presentation for my printmaking class.