Printmaker Pippin Frisbie-Calder uses a disappearing art to examine disappearing elements of our natural world.
St. Tammany Art Association presents “Canceled Edition: The Art of Birding”, a new exhibition featuring the work of artist Pippin Frisbie-Calder.
Artist Pippin Frisbie-Calder calls attention to the connection of humans to the rapidly increasing list of endangered species through the equally endangered art form of printmaking.
Based in New Orleans, Frisbie-Calder works passionately as a printmaker. She devotes thousands of hours to her skill and process utilizing screenprint and woodcut practices of hand cutting and painting her prints.
Installations from her “Canceled Edition” series not only transform spaces, but also are interactive. The interactivity connects people to the work and highlights the natural human behavior of the desire to preserve and enjoy something while conversely extinguishing it in the process. “Canceled Edition: The Art of Birding” will include an installation of over 300 hand-drawn and screen printed birds of twelve species that are endangered here in Louisiana. These include the Monk Parakeet, the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, and the Scarlet Tanager often spotted in many parks and gardens around our state. The visual impact is strong as viewers participate in the installation by removing birds from the wall one-by-one for the duration of the exhibition. Through her work, Frisbie-Calder presents Environmentalism in a new light. She encourages people, in her own words, “to revel in the beauty of the world, to understand what we currently have, and to gain a sense of stewardship for natural spaces.”
In addition to the installation of endangered species, “Canceled Edition: The Art of Birding” will showcase Frisbie-Calder’s larger-scaled woodblock prints. These pieces simultaneously explore the different processes of woodblock printing and cultural themes that connect the peoples of Louisiana.
St. Tammany Art Association (STAA) will open the exhibition to the public on Saturday, September 7, and host an opening reception on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. The exhibit will be on display through September 28, 2019 in our main Miriam Barranger Gallery. A gallery talk with the artist will take place on Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm before the opening reception. STAA will also host an Ornithological Panel Discussion on Saturday, September 21 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm with Pippin Frisbie-Calder joined by biologists and professors, Dr. Jennifer Coulson, and Dr. Donata Henry.
Frisbie-Calder’s experience with printmaking is vast and broad. She received a BFA with honors in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in printmaking from Tulane University. She also studied large-scale woodcuts abroad in Indonesia. Frisbie-Calder has taken residencies in Providence, Rhode Island; Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida; as well as a residency and teaching position in Haiti. She has exhibited extensively including a solo show at the Contemporary Art Center of New Orleans; a large installation and video projection at the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She has had work exhibited at numerous galleries in New Orleans, LA; Denver, Colorado; Providence, Rhode Island; and Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The St. Tammany Art Association is located at 320 N. Columbia Street, Covington, LA 70433. Our gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am – 4 pm and Saturday 11 am – 4 pm. All exhibitions are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated.
St. Tammany Art Association is supported by the generosity of our 2018 Season of the Arts sponsors and by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the St. Tammany Parish Commission on Cultural Affairs. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.