Barbara Beisinghoff in Residency
September 15-October 14
In a career that has spanned more than five decades, artist Barbara Beisinghoff has produced etchings, artists’ books, handmade paper, and installations, and has exhibited her work internationally in China, Peru, Israel, Egypt, Korea, Italy, and the US. Beisinghoff will serve as an artist-in-residence this fall at Vassar College.
A selection of Beisinghoff’s works will be on view in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center’s Project Gallery and in the Art Library. The exhibition, When Light Touches Paper, will be on view September 29-October 16. An opening reception will be held in the Art Center’s Sculpture Garden at 5:00pm on September 29. On Monday, October 3, a documentary about Beisinghoff’s work, produced by artist Eva Wal, will have its premiere screening. All events are free and open to the public.
A prize-winning graphic artist, Beisinghoff creates etchings and artists’ books from handmade paper with watermarks and waterjet drawings. During her residency at Vassar, Beisinghoff with work students and faculty from German Studies to create illustrations for their children’s book, from Biology to teach about plants for paper making, and Media Studies to talk about artist books. In her hometown, Dreieich, near Frankfurt, Germany, she worked on one project with 250 children, whose drawings—etched into copper reliefs—are embedded in the pavement around the town hall. At Vassar, she will engage in a tree poetry project with students, which entails putting words and quotes from pulp on the beautiful trees of Vassar’s arboretum. The tree project will also be available for viewing.
Beisinghoff will also be working with students at the Poughkeepsie Day School, silkscreening words from certain fairy tales onto the trunks and branches of trees. The words will be in German, and students at Vassar have laminated cards, with translations. The cards will hang from the trees like leaves. Recordings of the stories, in English, are being made for us as well, so that we can listen to the stories while standing under the trees. The project fits with some of the themes that grade 6 studies this year: the tales are middle ages in origin, and in science the students do a unit on trees and often work to make their value understood to a wider public.
The Creative Arts Across Disciplines initiative is generously funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This residency was dreamed up by Professor Silke von der Emde in the German Department
Exhibition, Events and Locations
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Exhibition: When Light Touches Paper: Watermarks by Barbara Beisinghoff
September 29-October 16
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center and Vassar College Art Library
Exhibition Opening Reception
Thursday, September 29, 5:00pm
Frances Lehman Loeb art Center, Sculpture Garden
Premiere Screening
Monday, October 3, time and place to be announced.
A new documentary about the work of Barbara Beisinghoff, directed by Eva Wal
Gallery Talk
Thursday, October 6, 5:00pm
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center
Barbara Beisinghoff and Silke von der Emde will lead an informal talk about the exhibition When Light Touches Paper.
Collaboratory
ABC Stories and PoeTree
Located underneath the Planetree on the Library Lawn
September 19-22, 2016
Monday-Thursday , 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Special Collections at the Vassar College Library
The Angel Is My Watermark & Various Artist Books on view September 29-October 16
Art Library
Artist Books, WaterMark & Room for a Clairvoyant on view September 29-October 16
German Department, Chicago Hall
Bettine von Arnim on view September 29-October 16
Poughkeepsie Day School
Fairtytale Tree on view September 19- 30th