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The Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) happily presents its latest collectable production published this summer in honor of the College’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s birthday.
Lafayette is planning a yearlong celebration during 2007-08 in recognition of the life and legacy of the man for whom it is named. Major events will include a lecture series, entitled Lives of Liberty, featuring renowned speakers; a historical exhibit at the Williams Center for the Arts, entitled A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, and a birthday party on Sept. 6.
Titled “Doorway to Opportunity,” the print is a limited edition etching that prominently depicts the statue of Lafayette located behind Colton Chapel. In the print, the statue is surrounded by various buildings on campus, including Markle Hall, Skillman Library and Farinon College Center.
Framed and unframed versions of the print may be purchased in the Lafayette College Store, according to store manager Charles Corsi. The framed versions will be available to order for $200 and unframed versions will sell for $150. Proceeds from the sales of the print will benefit the EPI student apprentice and summer internship program.
“With all of the exhibits of artifacts and artwork commemorating Lafayette, the community will now have something that they can take away with them,” says Curlee Holton, professor and department head of art and director of EPI.
In addition, the store will sell coffee mugs and white tee shirts depicting the 250th anniversary logo in honor of the celebration.
For more information on the sale of the prints, please contact Corsi at (610) 330-5512.
Holton says that the print may possibly be displayed as part of the A Son and His Adoptive Father exhibit, which will run Sept. 6-Oct. 28 in the Williams Center for the Arts gallery.
Priscilla Romero, a summer intern at EPI from the National University of Costa Rica, produced the etching. It was then hand printed by Megan Amendt, another summer intern from Kent State University in Ohio. Additional interns from Hartford Art School and Syracuse University also worked on various projects at EPI this summer.
“The print intersects very well with the celebration because it commemorates Lafayette as a symbol of opportunity for young people to realize their full potential, just as coming to America helped Lafayette realize his,” explains Holton. “Though Lafayette came here to help this nation realize its full potential as a nation of liberty, this experience also helped him reach his potential as a leader, and we at Lafayette College believe that this is what we help young people do as well. We wish to develop these qualities in the minds and spirits of students.”
Art major Caroline Burns ’09 (Wallingford, Ct.), who performed EXCEL research at EPI this summer and also contributed to the project, could not agree more.
“For me, Lafayette has definitely been my ‘Doorway to Opportunity’ through the academic programs and staff that this college has,” Burns explains. “In particular, EPI has provided a place and environment that has challenged me in many ways. I have been working at EPI since my freshman year and have really learned more than just the world of art. EPI has provided opportunities for me to work with other Lafayette students, such as art major Jacqui Molendyke ’10 (West Chester, Pa.), interns and peers from around the world as well as the United States, and great artists of our day to collaborate on projects and learn from the way they work in the cannon of modern day art.”