REVIEW in the Highlander the Student News Publication at Lyon College:
Bork & Dahl Review
By Emily Carter
Professor Dustyn Bork and his fiancé, Carly Dahl, are the most recent artists featured in Kresge Art Gallery of the Alphin Humanities Building. A reception will occur Thursday September 16, 2010, which will include self-introductions from both Bork and Dahl and their explanations of the displayed work; the audience may also question these artists personally. In addition, on Friday, September 17, 2010, Dahl will demonstrate her artistic style. Times for these events will be announced soon.
The Flemish government sponsors several artists to visit Belgium for three-week periods to develop screen prints and experience local culture. Bork, a recipient of this sponsorship, was able to create fifty screen prints during this visit, a few of which are currently displayed. For those familiar with screen printing and art jargon, his technique includes using photocopies exposed to screens, pulling a squeegee over the positive areas, filling them with ink, and repeating the process until he attains the desired effect. Bork’s pictures resemble architecture, using familiar space and patterns. When questioned, Bork states his art is more for the process and struggle to an end, and he draws inspiration from his surroundings.
Dahl, like her fiance, uses screen prints in her art but finds her inspiration in magazines depicting women and fashion. However, instead of basing each picture on a specific model, Dahl creates a background and an outfit for each girl first. She later draws in the body but leaves each female form faceless for viewers to create his or her own vision of beauty. In her series “Falling Girls,” the application of the screen-printed dress over the drawn bodies creates the effect the title suggests: falling. Another piece, “Fitting the Mold,” consists of Barbie doll-taylored dresses made from the pages of a magazine and hung from a tree limb. With this piece, she addressed the impact the unattainable images of the female form, often found in magazines, have on both young girls and women.
