A limited-edition print of the iconic Grotto at the University of Notre Dame is now for sale through the Segura Arts Studio, located in the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture (NDCAC). This is the studio’s first print to be created specifically for Notre Dame since moving here from Arizona in 2012, and opening in March of 2013. The Segura Arts Studio chose the grotto as their first subject in order to capture the strong religious aspect of campus, and an iconic landmark that unites the Notre Dame family.
“This is the studio’s inaugural ‘Notre Dame Landmark Print’ — the first of an annual series of prints that highlight important landmarks on campus which we feel will resonate with the Notre Dame family, and with the local community. We’ve launched this series of prints to draw attention to the University’s growing interest in arts and culture,” said Doug Franson, assistant director at the Segura Arts Studio.
The print was created through a detailed process of pressing paper into tiny recessed areas of a copper plate. This technique gives the image an embossed look. A one-page text offering information on the artist, print, and the print studio, will accompany a framed print, along with the copper plate, on display at the Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore.
Photographer Terry Evans captured the image of the Grotto for the print. She is known for using both land and aerial photography to uncover the complex relationships that exist between land and people. Evans said, “These places are beautiful to me, perhaps because all land, like the human body, is beautiful.” The Snite Museum of Art holds a permanent collection of her photography. To see examples of Evans’ work, visit terryevansphotography.com.
Evans produced several other prints for the Segura Arts Studio. She created three color lithographs of aerial photographs highlighting man’s impact on the natural landscape. Each lithograph is covered by a veil of transparent material that layers details onto the print’s surface. This style allows the viewer to see both translations of the image, generating thought on man’s destruction of the natural landscape.
“One print shows land littered with mounds of explosives on an iron ore mine waiting to be detonated. Another print shows the removal of a mountaintop for mining, with only a small amount of forest still visible amongst the roads and construction vehicles. The third print shows a lush landscape cut in half for pipeline construction,” described production printer Jes O’Hearn.
Next year’s print is already in the planning process. In the fall, well-known American photographer Matt Klett will take an old photograph of an iconic Notre Dame landmark from Notre Dame’s archives. He will recreate the image as it stands today, juxtaposing the two images over time and showing how the University has evolved. The exact subject of the photograph has not yet been determined.
Klett is known for his rephotography skills. He travels around the country and photographs landscapes changing over time due to various factors such as environmental changes, population increases, and drought. His photographs explore man’s relationship with the evolving American landscape.
One hundred copies of “Grotto Autumn 2014” are available online via Segura Arts Studio’s webpage for $250, unframed. The studio also offers numerous other pieces of fine quality artwork available for purchase to the public.
For more information contact: Doug Franson, Segura Arts Studio, 574-631-3143, dfranson@nd.edu.