Evan Summer Response

The opening of Evan Summer’s show last Friday was great. I am really glad that I was able to attend the opening because he gave a wonderful tour through his exhibit. Sometimes when you miss the artist’s talk it is harder to appreciate and understand what it is the artist is doing in their work, even when you do have a written statement about the work. Evan was a very down to earth man and in describing himself and his past, I could understand more of why he chose the subject matter that he did. His work and his focus on his fascination with bugs and cross sections of plants makes a lot more sense knowing his scientific background. But also the intensely geometric landscapes mixed with the organic has a lot to do with his scientific background as well, and it is nice to see something that is possibly coming from a different perspective.

I really appreciated the amount of detail and time that was clearly spent on all of these pieces. I didn’t know a lot about print making when I first saw the show, but his attention to detail was just amazing and is what really caught my eye. It was only after attending Evan’s workshop that I truly understood how much work he actually puts into these prints.

I think what fascinates me about Evan Summer’s work is that he talks about the stages he goes through. He explained at the workshop that he will create the prints or collagraphs in stages where he will work on the piece just a bit, print it and see if it is what he wants. He then explained how usually with these printed stages, he would hang them in his studio space for inspiration and some insight on the piece as he is working on it. I think it is important to think about the process that a piece or pieces are going through in stages because sometimes viewing your work in that way is what the artist needs to see to move forward. I really liked both the talk that he gave at his opening and his workshop that he held. It was something very new and different for me and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much.