Printmaker Joel Feldman to Speak at SUNY New Paltz

NEW PALTZ — Continuing its popular Art Lecture Series, The Student Art Alliance welcomes Joel Feldman for a lecture and presentation on Wednesday, October 11. The event is held on the SUNY New Paltz campus, in Lecture Center 112 at 7:30 PM. It is free event that is open to all, and sponsored by the SUNY New Paltz Student Association.

Recently, Feldman’s interest in social issues, particularly the misuse of power, has been central to his work as a printmaker. Images and text from various Eastern European sites of crisis have focused his attention and provided metaphoric material that readily communicates and functions in a universal context. The woodcut as media of choice has historical relevance and readily lends itself to Feldman’s icongraphy.

The artist’s large-scale woodcut compositions, densely populated with narrative images, encourage multiple readings and interpretations. In a print titled “Games of Strategy,” for example, Feldman uses medieval-style scenes to portray the classic dichotomy between Church and State.

“As a medium, the woodcut technique has a directness both in making and in look that function as a necessary counterpoint to the complexity of the imagery,” says Feldman. Upon close inspection, Feldman’s work reveals references to folk tales and folk craft, animal fables, European art from late Medieval to early Renaissance, photographs of Eastern Europe’s destruction of political monuments, and vintage cartoons.

Joel Feldman’s lecture/presentation at SUNY New Paltz that will include photo-based work, wood sculpture, and other images selected by the artist. For additional information or directions to the Lecture Center, please call 257-3872.

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