 "Photo: Richard Marks/Greyhound")
The current exhibition on display in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery, "Illustrating Measure for Measure- Historic and Contemporary Representations," serves as a complement to this year's Humanities Symposium text, Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure." For those who are unfamiliar with the play, it is an interaction of various characters involved in a pregnancy scandal where Angelo, the Duke's deputy, sentences the nobleman, Claudio, to death for impregnating his lover. His sister, Isabella, is then forced to contemplate sacrificing her chastity in order to secure his release. Eventually, Claudio is saved without Isabella's sacrifice. The story is quite simple, but as the images in the show reveal, the story can be interpreted in a number of ways.
This exhibit, which features the work of Loyola College students, as well as distinguished artists, boasts thirty-eight works altogether. The majority of these illustrations are digital prints accredited to students previously enrolled in the fall semester's two-dimensional digital design (alpha course) and digital image course. The remaining images are prints attributed to the artists John Boydell, Edwin Austin Abbey, and Rockwell Kent. While the students' artwork was completed in 2007, the historical representations date as far back as the late 18th century.
Upon entering the gallery, viewers are offered a pamphlet that clearly outlines the main focus of each student's digital artwork. It guides viewers through the exhibition, allowing them to pause for a moment at each work and recognize how it relates to the overall themes present in "Measure for Measure." Walking through the exhibit viewers can find examples of frequently recurring images of corruption, struggle, faith/purity and deceit. For instance, a number of the prints incorporate flowers as a representation of Isabella, and handcuffs or chains to symbolize Claudio's fate. One print that utilizes both of these symbols is Robert Rezin's "Untitled." In his scannogram he depicts a flower to signify Isabella's purity, but pairs it with a constricting chain that he claims represents the impurity of Angelo asking Isabella to act against her will.
Likewise, a number of the students' modern interpretations rely on the use of color to portray the emotions exhibited by the characters throughout the course of the play. For example, Gregory Eng's digital collage, "Weighing Values," strategically uses the colors black and white to symbolize the deception and sin represented in the scene where Isabella visits Claudio in prison. Other works continue to use color to accurately represent emotional struggle as well, using red to represent sin and white to symbolize chastity or purity.
Furthermore, certain images are very clear, while others are ambiguous. For example, Betsy Vanlangen's digital photograph, "Tis one thing to be tempted… Another thing to fall," leaves the viewer to form his or her own idea about what is being represented. Instead of clearly portraying a scene traceable to the text, she represents Isabella's internal struggle by simply presenting a woman's hand clutching rosary beads with a masculine hand reaching over, grabbing her by the wrist. Viewers can interpret this to be indicative of either Claudio's pleading for his life or Angelo asking Isabella to sacrifice her chastity.
While the contemporary digital prints dominate the show, the historic representations of "Measure for Measure" merit attention as well. Tucked away in the corner of the gallery, they are given a secondary position to the students' artwork; but they are exceptional additions to the exhibition. A number of these prints actually belong to the Loyola College permanent collection of art, including the two John Boydell engravings and two of the Edwin Austin Abbey wood engravings.
Boydell's prints are engravings done after paintings originally commissioned for his Shakespeare Gallery in London. Though these are reproductions of the original artist's works, they capture the great detail of the scene through the use of stipple engraving in order to emphasize the light, shade and contrast. Likewise, the photogravure and wood engravings by Abbey are impressive for extreme detail expressed on a small scale. Even Rockwell Kent's print, with its unique subject choice of Mariana disguised as Isabella in Act I, Scene I, is a great addition. This is due in part to Kent's success as an illustrator, not of Shakespearean scenes, but of other novels such as "Moby Dick" and "The Canterbury Tales."
Due to the inclusion of student created artwork as well as renowned artists' prints, the show has been aptly named "Illustrating Measure for Measure- Historic and Contemporary Interpretations." Though each individual work represents a unique interpretation, all of the pieces in the show work together to portray Shakespeare's overall messages in the play. If the student artwork on display appeals to you, then you may wish to purchase "Judge/Judge Not," the student-edited and designed edition of "Measure for Measure," which includes the images that appear in the show, as well as 39 additional ones. Copies of this edition are available for sale at the entrance to the gallery. But even if you do not wish to purchase an illustrated version of this year's Humanities Symposium text, and would simply like to view the show, it will be on display in the Julio Fine Arts Gallery until Feb. 22.
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