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1955, Fred Becker, Toward the Left, 4-color block, pine plank woodcut, 19” x 28”
In the 1960s, the program’s rapid expansion brought in a wave of 10 new faculty. Fred Becker was the only printmaker among them. “Toward the Left,” which was made shortly before the program formed, represented the dominant aesthetic of the time, Abstract Expressionism.
Herter Art Gallery recently displayed a survey of works from the studio arts faculty in celebration of the department’s first 50 years. Works by 38 former and current faculty were represented. This retrospective exhibition illustrated the aesthetic shifts in the art world at large, and also in the waves of evolution of the program, from the pioneers of mid-20th century modernism to our contemporaries.
Take a gander. For highlights of the catalog visit Nifty at Fifty.
Throughout the 1970s, John Grillo, painting professor in the studio arts program, drew sketches of his fellow faculty members during meetings.
