September Art Exhibit
The Library Art Gallery is hosting artwork from Rob Stringer from August 30 through September 28. The artist reception will be held on Thursday, September 5, 6-8 PM in the Gallery.
Artist Exhibit Statement
This exhibit consists of a series of portraits created in an Ishihara Plate motif. Ishihara Plates are used in assessing the medical condition of color blindness, specifically to determine whether a subject is red-green color blind. Those who are red-green color blind will only register random dots of color. Those who are not red-green color blind will instead see a number or figure in the pattern of colored dots (see below for an example).
These portraits were created as a way to honor those whose lives and deaths have galvanized others to fight for respect, equality, and the pursuit of happiness.
There are three sections within this show
- Black Lives Matter is composed of portraits of people who have been killed by police or through other acts of racial violence.
- Civil Rights Inspirations includes portraits of people whose lives are or were an inspiration on this journey.
- Indigenous acknowledges data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealing that in the United States, Native Americans are 3.1 times more likely to be killed by police than whites, yet the killings of Native people go almost entirely unreported by mainstream U.S. media.
The juxtaposition of the Ishihara Plate motif, with the obvious portraits in vibrant color, is intended to amplify the reality that no individual or system is actually color blind when it comes to race. While these portraits may not change anyone’s unconscious biases, they may spark a discussion that will be part of the journey to inclusiveness, diversity, equality and anti-racism. Profits on all sales of this work go to support racial equity-related non-profits.
Artist Biography
As a child, Rob was tested and diagnosed as being red-green color blind. It struck him that it would be appropriate to appropriate the concept of Ishihara plate colorblind tests, creating portraits of people that inspire in a way that points to the now-dated idea of claiming ‘color blindness’ as a way to deny acknowledging differences in race. By creating images that should be clearly visible to anyone viewing them, Rob is hoping to spark conversation about race, power, and implicit bias.
Rob’s had a life-long interest in art, but chose to go into the business world, spending years in the sales, marketing and product development fields, crafting many pitch decks and board presentations. It is this experience that gave him the tools to use Google Slides to create these portraits. Rob lives in Lincoln with his wife, sons and beautiful dog, Gaia.
