Visiting Artist: Barry Moser

May 11-12, 2010

Barry Moser works in multiple mediums. In addition to being an illustrator, printer, painter, printmaker, designer, author, and essayist, Mr. Moser is currently professor in residence in the Smith College Department of Art and serves as printer to the college.

Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Moser has illustrated the complete version of the King James Bible, and his illustration of Jump, Again! The Further Adventures of Brer Rabbit, was named by The New York Times as one of the “Ten Best Illustrated Children's Books” of 1987.

During his time on the Island, Mr. Moser demonstrated his artistry for various classes and gave a presentation to the community on May 12.

Mr. Moser visited Loomis Chaffee as the first lecturer for the Joseph Stookins Lecture Fund, made possible through a gift from Richard J. Mackler ‘57.

View gallery of Barry Moser artwork                                                    Visit Barry Moser's Website

Visiting Artist: Leslie Sobel

Artist's Statement: I connect deeply with the outdoors. Both emotionally and intellectually my sense of place and our relationship with where we are resonate in my work. Places I’ve walked, hiked, sat, lived or imagined figure prominently in my work. Often they are places that are vulnerable somehow - to climate change, human intervention, and invasive species. I aim to preserve, remember, and elegize places I love.

I often work from aerial sources – satellite and International Space Station images from the NASA website. I start digitally combining images with topographic maps and climate data, which I print on my large format archival inkjet printer.

My next stage is painterly – using encaustic, oil pastels, and other media. The two-part process of my work integrates technology and nature, echoing my thematic exploration of our interconnected environment. Encaustic lasts for thousands of years with colors remaining vivid and bright, yet the surface is a bit soft and vulnerable. The result is final works both durable and fragile, much like the earth.