‘20 Years of Lake Effect Editions’ reveals student, visiting artist collabs
"20 Years of Lake Effect Editions" is housed at the Warehouse Gallery and will be open until Oct. 24. Dusty Herbig, the founder of the exhibit, tries to use every inch of wall space. Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Printing blocks, masonite carvings and plates line the walls of the Nancy Cantor Warehouse Gallery. Some prints depict experimental techniques, while others are of nature, like wolves, showing two decades of work and collaboration from visiting artists.
“You don’t usually take the time to step back and reflect on it all… seeing all the work on the wall definitely makes me super proud,” said Dusty Herbig, a Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts professor.
The Lake Effect Editions program was founded in 2006 by Herbig. Since the program’s start, visiting artists have come to SU for four days and create prints alongside Herbig and graduate students.
“20 Years of Lake Effect Editions,” which features works from the 20-year program, will run until Oct. 24 at the Warehouse Gallery.
The theme of the exhibit is collaboration, celebrating works from 20 years of partnerships from the printmaking program. The 20th anniversary snuck up on Herbig, who hadn’t spent much time reflecting on the history of the program until this year’s milestone.
The program has been an outstanding way for teachers, students and guests to bond through artistry, Herbig said.
Andrew Saluti, a professor of museum studies at SU and advisory member for the Warehouse Gallery, said he greatly admired the work of Herbig and everyone involved in the exhibit.
“He’s really created a fantastic engagement for students,” Saluti said. “This is hands-on practical work for printmakers to be working with living artists … to be able to work alongside somebody like Art Werger or Beauve Lyons is a very unique experience.”
Lauren Baker, art exhibit operations coordinator at the Warehouse Gallery, said Herbig takes advantage of every inch of gallery space, allowing the artists to show more of the collection. “20 Years of Lake Effect Editions” gallery installation has an open layout, mirroring the depth and variety of the works on display.
Graduate students research artists that are interesting to them to invite them to participate in the art-making program. The hands-on experience often leads students to follow in the career footsteps of artists.Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
Baker said that people walking through the exhibit “transform” as they see the variety of visual textures and different colors shown on the gallery’s walls. Collages and pieces with manipulated paper and diverse textures are also featured in the exhibit. Even the framing of the pieces were “beautifully” done by Herbig, Baker said.
The program was founded shortly after Herbig began teaching at SU. Herbig said the interview process for the job was the first step in founding the exhibit.
Herbig said he was asked some challenging questions during the interview. He centered his answers around his idea for a new visiting artist program that he knew he wanted to execute.
Once he was hired, he started to invite visiting artists to come in and kickstart the program. The students loved the process of collaboration with the artists and the interactive nature of the program, Herbig said, and the program stood out amongst a schedule full of lectures.
“I recognized the difference between just having a visiting artist come to campus… and actually working directly with artists making projects,” Herbig said.
As the program grew over time, it evolved to cater to what the students wanted. Instead of Herbig choosing which artists to invite, the students are now involved in researching who they think would be captivating to hear from, he said.
Herbig said the collaborative process is a great way for students to meet and understand people who could possibly shape their futures and careers. There are dozens of examples of students taking jobs they first heard about from visiting artists, he said. Students who engage with these artists tend to grow their confidence as they work and succeed alongside respected artists, Herbig said.
“It has a really high impact — not just because of the individual works, but the amount of skill the artists have on display,” Baker said.
The future of Lake Effect Editions is bright, Herbig said. Herbig foresees even more connections and opportunities in the program’s future. He hopes to have 75 people involved in the program before he retires.
The Lake Effect Editions program is a unique opportunity that means a lot to the Syracuse community, Saluti said. Baker said she sees a need for more of the general Syracuse community to visit the exhibit.
“We are downtown, we have an open door where it’s not just the SU community, but the Syracuse community,” Saluti explained. “It deserves more recognition.”
