Works of protest, resistance done by diverse set of artists

On Oct. 6, California Lutheran University’s William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art opens its new exhibit, Print+: Sameness & Otherness in Contemporary Print Media, which presents works of protest and resistance by 22 artists from different backgrounds who use the tools and techniques of printmaking in novel ways. The exhibit will be on display through Feb.1, and its opening corresponds with Cal Lutheran’s annual homecoming weekend.

In her curatorial statement, multidisciplinary artist Sheila Goloborotko, the curator for Print+, says the exhibit “focuses on the importance of showcasing artwork where diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion create an essential and fertile ecology.”

Works in Print+ use various materials — videos and performances, hospital gowns and quilts, handkerchiefs and photographs — to present a unique perspective on their unique experiences. HIV-positive artist Daniel Luetke, for example, uses prints of his urinalysis and blood tests in his mosaic piece. Artist Alison Saar addresses issues of socio-economic status and skin color by using shop rags and handkerchiefs. Kat Chudy’s work contains hospital gowns used in MRIs.

Goloborotko said each artist has a unique story to tell.

“They are gay, activist, straight, male, female, trans, queer, old, young, white, Black, Indigenous, people of color and immigrants. They are disabled bodies and bodies in transformation — yet not one artist would want to be defined by such singular terms,” Goloborotko said.

The parameters of the exhibition are imprecise; Goloborotko said the art is supposed to be the opposite of rigid, complacent, finite.

“’Witness’ is the essence of what a print does and how it functions from inception to the present day,” Goloborotko said. “It will outlive lifetimes; its power will exist after fad and upheaval. A print is something that leaves a mark.”

Print+ is a traveling exhibition that originated at Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey. Cal Lutheran is its last stop.

The exhibit is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information visit RollandGallery.CalLutheran.edu or contact Jesse Groves at jgroves@CalLutheran.edu or 805-493-3697.