Maine Artist’s “worldwidewomen” Exhibit at Hudson Museum
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — One of the newest exhibits at the University of Maine’s Hudson Museum is by Lamoine, Maine artist Arlyss Becker, a series of prints depicting women around the world as strong, forbearing individuals “balancing the stress and strain of each ordinary day with the wisdom and wit of the ages,” according to Becker.
Titled “worldwidewomen,” the exhibit went up June 10 and will remain on the third floor gallery in the Maine Center for the Arts building on the Orono campus until Sept. 1.
The show’s title refers to a Becker’s intention to use a series of color monotype prints, some of which depict women in a Caribbean setting waiting for their men to return from the sea. Some of the women, draped in what appears to be fish net, stand among rocks on the shore. While the first of the prints selected for the series portrayed women caught in the nets meant to catch fish, according to Becker, she expanded it to include women in other circumstances.
Becker’s work utilizes experimental collagraphic printmaking techniques and a variety of materials in as many ways as possible to add interest, texture and depth to the work, she says.
“Using rough materials and course tools adds agitation and distress, where needed, in strong evocative ways,” Becker says. “Using slippery and glossy materials and fine tools gives softer, subtle surfaces and edges where smoothness is desired. A mix of many techniques adds to the richness and impact of artwork that have layers of meaning.”
Becker has a special interest in women from other countries, and has lived and taught art in four states and several countries. She incorporates into her work the results of her observations of cultures, in addition to her interests in art history, reading, fabrics, sewing, knitting, weaving, world wide events and the historic depictions of women, she says.
Becker studied art at St. Olaf College in Minnesota and taught art for 28 years. After retiring from teaching, she devoted more time to painting. Additionally, she has studied sculpture, drawing, painting and printmaking at Haystack Mountain School, Worcester Art Museum, Decordova Museum School and Bennington College. She also has studied painting with Jon Imber and Elizabeth Ahern, well-known Boston area artists.
Becker winters in Colorado, where she continues her artwork, concentrating on mountainscapes and Colorado-based visual interpretations. Working with oils, acrylics and other art media, she has exhibited in Colorado, Massachusetts and Maine.
Museum director Gretchen Faulkner says Becker’s work fits well within the Hudson Museum’s mission to present exhibits that explore cultural diversity. Becker explores women in a variety of cultural settings, Faulkner says,
In the next few weeks, additional exhibits going up at Hudson include a Northeastern Birchbark exhibit and photography by Martin Neptune, a member of the Penobscot Nation.
TheHudson Museum is free and open Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is closed Sundays and Mondays. The museum can be reached by calling (207) 581-1901.