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GLT Datebook: Reality Slips In Printmaker's Show

The Illinois State University galleries in Uptown Normal currently has a show from Rob Swainstone called 'We thought they thought what we thought, but they didn't.'  Curated by Gallery director Barry Blinderman, the show features wood block prints on oversized sheets of fabric and paper.  Swainston uses the ancient technique of wood block printing, but with a modern sensibility. 

  • Blinderman said Swainston's work is very unusual.  The scale of the prints is not something you see often, 16 1/2 feet tall.
  • The curator explained that he wanted to show this work because it really speaks to how we live our lives today -- fact passes as fiction, and we are bombarded with images.
  • Some of Swainston's work is on paper, while the larger, darker creations are on fabric. The fabric works are multi-layered, creating a dizzying effect as light shines from below.
  • The works on paper began as digital prints, with Swainston adding layers of imagery which are offset, much like some of Andy Warhol's popular prints. 
Reporter, content producer and former All Things Considered host, Laura Kennedy is a native of the Midwest who occasionally affects an English accent just for the heck of it. Related to two U.S. presidents, Kennedy appalled her family by going into show business.