Dead Souls illustrator on display at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

By Zuri Kelver
Western Herald

From now until Oct. 19, 65 monochromatic etchings by Russian-born artist Mark Chagall will be on display at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts until Oct. 19.

The etchings were produced as companion pieces for the novel “Les Ames Mortes” (or “The Dead Souls”) by Nikolai Gogol and “The Fables” by 17th century French poet Jean de la Fontaine.

“The collection was very interesting, the scope of the project was surprising, I did not expect to see so many distinct portraits,” said Pam Kazarian, a Wisconsin resident visiting the KIA. “Chagall really captured the adversity of the characters in his source material with genuine artistic spirit.”

Chagall lived in Europe during the same period as Pablo Picasso and comparisons between the two men’s artistic style are evident when looking at their works side‑by‑side.

Regarding Chagall’s displayed work, the etchings themselves are about the size of a sheet of copy paper and the entire collection fills two main display rooms.

There is no shortage of material. The sheer scope of the exhibit is a testament to the artist’s work ethic, as well as his aptitude. Unfortunately, Chagall died before the project could be finished.

At first glance it looks as if the etchings are crude pencil drawings that one might see in a children’s book, when in fact the image itself began on a small sheet of copper. Each scene was scratched onto the metal with small etching tools; the image was then transferred to a sheet of paper.

Institute curators included a comprehensive step‑by‑step guide describing the etching process in great detail.

The KIA is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m.  Admission to the Chagall exhibit is free and open to the public.

The KIA owns west Michigan’s most complete collection of fine art and is a located at the corner of South and Park streets in downtown Kalamazoo.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=947

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Sep 30 2008. Filed under A & E. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com