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Art apprentice show opens

By Kari VanDerVeen
January 8, 2008

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"Secondary Feather" by Stephanie Rogers '07.
A group of four recently graduated St. Olaf College art majors know a thing or two about broken hearts.

A collection of their work, which focuses on subjects ranging from boxer Mike Tyson to orphaned children, will be on display in the Groot Gallery in the Dittmann Center at St. Olaf College from Jan. 8-Feb. 15 in a show titled "Four Ways to Break Someone's Heart." A closing reception will be held Feb. 15 from 5-7 p.m. The show will also feature two artists' talks -- one on Jan. 15 and another Feb. 12, with both starting at 7 p.m. The show is free and open to the public.

All of the artists worked in mixed media to create a collection that examines the emotions of their subjects. Brian Kehoe created a number of images of Mike Tyson, including a 4-foot by 5-foot depiction of the former boxing champion. Rebecca Gramdorf crafted a colorful display of modified photographs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community at St. Olaf. Stephanie Rogers used a unique type of photography to capture images of bird skeletons, feathers and wings that form a display about yearning to fly. And Jenna Erickson drew inspiration from her visits to and research on an old orphanage in Owatonna, Minn., to create pieces that reflect the palpable isolation many of the children felt while in the institution.

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Ceramics by Jenna Erickson '07.
"It is the presence of those unfulfilled emotions that engage my artistic interest," Erickson says. "Through the creation of this work I hope to share with others my insights into a group of children who seem to be lost in history, but whose emotional experience lives on nonetheless."

Gramdorf's work started as an investigation into her personal feelings about coming out and evolved into a process that reached into the St. Olaf community.

"I realized that I could not make the positive statement I desired without enlisting the help of others further along in the coming-out process, and ultimately I think it was the collaboration with these wonderful people that made this work the colorful and joyous art it is," Gramdorf says.

Erickson and Rogers will deliver their artist talk on Jan. 15, and Kehoe and Gramdorf will present on Feb. 12.

Apprentice program
All four of the artists graduated from St. Olaf in May and were invited back to the college to participate in its one-year apprenticeship program. Each year the St. Olaf Department of Art and Art History retains a handful of promising art majors who stay on campus for an additional fifth year at the college.

The apprentices get studio space to prepare for two shows throughout the year. In addition, the apprentices assist with academic programs, including evening art critique sessions with current students.

Kehoe said he hopes those who view his art at this exhibit see a progression in maturity since his senior art show. The apprentice art show should not simply be an extension of the exhibit that each artist did during his or her senior year at St. Olaf, he says.

"When I've been in the position of a student looking at the apprentices' work, the work that's stood out to me is seeing someone take that next step," Kehoe says.

Rogers says she also wants undergraduate art students to get another important lesson out of the show. "I want them to see that working on art doesn't stop when you graduate."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.