The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will continue its new Collegiate Series featuring a lecture on printmaking processes and images with West Virginia University (WVU) Assistant Professor of Art Joseph Lupo on Feb. 25, and a concert performance by Marshall University’s Faculty Jazz Ensemble, Bluetrane, on Feb. 26. Both programs begin at 7 p.m. The Collegiate Series is held in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater at the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The series consists of performances and lectures by students and faculty from WVU and Marshall University. First Lady Gayle Manchin is the host of the program. The Collegiate Series is free and open to the public.
The Monday, Feb. 25 program features Professor Lupo, who will talk about his artwork and the direction he has been taking it in the last five years. During that time, he has produced black and white hand-pulled prints and intaglio, silkscreen, relief and lithograph works as well as hand-made reproductions of mass produced prints, receipts and comic book talk bubbles. Lupo says, “It is my intention to make artwork that can be ambiguous and possibly contradictory, instead of didactic and certain, all using familiar imagery. Much of my recent work has centered around issues of communication and forms of reproduction.” An exhibit of his work is on display in the Balcony Gallery through April 20.
In 2005, Lupo began to address how artists and writers communicate through comics. One of the major symbols of communication in comics is the thought/talk bubble. “Comics,” he says, “rely on both text and the graphic image in order to make a storyline move along.” He has begun a series of works concentrating on the thought/talk bubble, using shapes taken directly from The Invincible Iron Man comic book, volume 1, number 178, which was published in 1982. It is his intention to reproduce all of the bubbles that were printed in that issue.
Lupo holds a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking and painting from Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. where he graduated magna cum laude. He received his masters degree in printmaking from the University of Georgia in Athens. He is the printmaking program coordinator for the division of art at WVU and also has taught at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Ill., Robert Morris College in Chicago and the University of Georgia among others. He received the Myers Distinguished Research Award from the division of art at WVU in 2006 and 2007, a Juror’s Award, from the Inertia 2005 Exhibition in Gallery 500, Portland, Ore., and a Merit Award in the 45th Chautauqua Exhibition of American Art in Chautauqua, N.Y. in 2000 among others. His work has been included in numerous exhibitions and can be found in public and private collections including Dong-A University in Pusan, South Korea; Kohler Art Library in Madison, Wis.; Southern Graphics Council Archives, currently housed at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.; and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in Bloomsburg, Pa.
The Tuesday, Feb. 26 performance will feature compositions from Bluetrane’s first CD recording, Things I’ve Herd. These tunes are contemporary pieces written and arranged by group members and standard selections from the American Songbook.
Bluetrane first performed as part of the Marshall University Jazz Festival. As host to one of the longest-running collegiate Jazz festivals, Marshall has hosted many of the world’s best-known performers. Artists who have played at the festivals include Maynard Ferguson and Orchestra, Stan Kenton and Orchestra, Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Buddy Morrow, the County Basie Orchestra, Bob Thompson, Alvin Batiste and Conrad Herwig to name a few.
Bluetrane is central to the Jazz studies program at Marshall. The program enjoys a state-of-the-art rehearsal, performance and recording facility. Bluetrane was created to provide a professional model for the students at Marshall and to establish a musical ensemble devoted to the performance of what has been termed “America’s National Treasure.” Members of the group include Ed Bingham, saxophone; Martin Saunders, trumpet; Mike Stroeher, trombone; Sean Parsons, piano; Mark Zanter, bass and guitar; and Steve Hall, drums.
For more information about the printmaking lecture and art display and the Bluetrane concert, call (304) 558-0162.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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Media Note: A photo of Lupo’s work is available at our website at www.wvculture.org attached to this release. Download here.
It’ll be a pleasure to take his money...ANYBODY can do ANYTHING for a lousy twelve hours
Silkscreen
22” x 30”
2006
