7 Artists Send a Message in New Exhibit

Jennifer-Boe-Beef-Brisket-3.19lbArt is a conversation between its creator and the viewer. And like all conversations, some are more provocative than others.

Such is the case with Text Messages, opening Friday, July 1st at Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City. While the seven artists featured in the exhibition all use language, text or typography to convey meaning, each does so in very different ways.

Born and raised around the shores of Lake Michigan, artist Jennifer Boe calls her work “embroidered allegories… heavily influenced by my mother's strange craft projects, geared around the idea of reduce, reuse, and recycle, as well as, the near annual gifts of embroidered linens from my two grandmothers.” Addressing a combination of art, faith, consumerism and/or domesticity, her deceptively sweet looking compositions are at once familiar and unsettling.

Contrasts are also explored, and exploited, in the work of Jean Bevier. A graphic designer, Bevier admittedly likes to “play with words,” employing materials in ways that either enhance or contradict their meaning. She’s created a piece titled Relax, specifically for Text Messages. An affectionate acknowledgement of the many trips the artist has made around the lake from Chicago to vacationland, Bevier notes, “Harbor Country represents pure relaxation but in order to get here one must first run the gauntlet of warehouses boasting the world’s largest supply of explosive devices.

Jean-Bevier-Operators-Are-Standing-ByOur culture is increasingly based on visual imagery,” notes Wisconsin artist, Charles Wickler. His compositions address social justice and political issues with text, occasionally complemented with found images, creating a conceptual interplay. Wickler says his works, “are not meant to be decorative. They are meant to confront the viewer to stop and react to an image in a new context.”

Political, personal, satirical or lyrical, each of the "messages" included in this provocative exhibition are cause for conversation.

Text Messages, featuring the work of Jean Bevier, Jennifer Boe, Karin Vance Chickadel, Lora Fosberg, Amanda Katz, Michael Bill Smith and Charles Wickler, opens with a free artist reception on Friday, July 1 from 5-8 p.m. (central) and runs through October 2. Presented with support from the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corporation.

Opening the same night, Melissa Jay Craig: Transcriptions, features installations of handmade paper, exploring scale, color and texture. Visit www.lubeznikcenter.org for more information.

lubeznik-center-for-the-artsThe Lubeznik Center is located at 101 W. 2nd St., at the lakefront in Michigan City, IN. Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Galleries are closed on Mondays. For more information please visit www.lubeznikcenter.org or call 219-874-4900. All times are based on Chicago time.

Photos: Jennifer Boe, "Beef Brisket $3.19Lb," 2009, embroidery and Xerox Transfer on Flour Sack, 32”x 32”; Jean Bevier, "Operators Are Standing By," 2008, 60” x 12”, neon