The art of printmaking takes center stage with two new exhibits currently on display at the Meridian Museum of Art.

“We are teaching printmaking for the first time this summer in our youth classes, so I wanted a printmaker to be here so they can see a very professional printmaker,” said Kate Cherry, executive director Meridian Museum of Art. “Both of our exhibitors are professors of printmaking.”

In one exhibit, artist Shawn L. Dickey, of Columbus, who teaches printmaking and photography courses at Mississippi University for Women, showcases two series of his work, the 2016 Dystopian Series and The Ship of Fools from 2020.

The second exhibit showcases works by Carolyn Norton, an instructor of printmaking and foundations at the University of Southern Mississippi, who was the Best of Show winner at the 48th annual Bi-State Art Competition and Exhibition sponsored by the Meridian Museum of Art.

Influence of dystopian films and a pandemic

In Dickey’s Dystopian Series, which should easily attract the attention of younger artists, the theme of the dimensional screen prints focuses on the collisions of technology, social anxiety and means of communication, all juxtaposed against the backdrop of classic dystopian films, such as “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Omega Man,” and “Soylent Green.”

“The design of each work is intentional — stressing the claustrophobic space in which we in the 21st Century now reside, resulting from the intersection of technology and human condition,” Dickey wrote in describing his works. “The design also features the addition of cutie, harmless children’s toys that for many serve as introductions to mass communication but in my dystopian realm, they become obscure icons of the domination of technology.

“Astronauts and scientists serve as key players in each narrative, acting as avatars of new opportunities, and displaying caution as they traverse the unknown future fraught with dangers and troubles,” he wrote.

In his 2020 The Ship of Fools Series, Dickey had originally planned to create a body of work as a homage to Albrecht Dürer, a printmaker and painter who is considered by art historians to be the greatest German artist of the Renaissance.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and “the world went diagonal; coronavirus, politics, and culture became the headliners in a wacky 24/7 incoherent performance,” he wrote.

So, he reimagined his original idea and decided to focus on a time when a young Dürer’s life intersected with German humanist and satirist Sebastian Brant who was working on his book, “The Ship of Fools,” which used prose and woodcut illustrations to highlight the sinful behavior of the 15th Century.

Dickey was drawn to the themes and woodcut imagery in Brant’s book, which led to his series.

“The multi-panel screen printed works presented serve as a record of dialog between a virus-weary 21st century individual and a 15th century satirical work of culture,” he wrote.

Finding beauty in nature

In Norton’s exhibit, however, the wonder of the natural world from grasslands to rushing waters and the need to protect these areas are the focus of her photography and printmaking techniques. Her images of a canal lock, a chalk river, a fault-line river, a glacial river, a mountain creek and spillways were made in the U.S., Canada and England.

Norton’s love of nature dates back to growing up around the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and the mountains of North Carolina, traveling with a camera and box of watercolors.

“When I lived in a desert, six months passed before I saw a cloud, and less than an inch of rain fell in three years,” she said in a statement. “Having grown up wading in creeks, going outside in the rain, and exploring the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, drought was new to me.”

Drought is increasingly commonplace around the world and its impact is widespread, she noted.

“Rather than record devastated environments, I want to remind viewers of the beauty of water, to consider what we value as we make decisions affecting our future: to preserve what remains,” Norton wrote.

In addition to the downstairs exhibits, Cherry also selected works from the museum’s permanent collection, all featuring printmaking techniques, that will be on display in the upstairs gallery where the art classes are held.

Both of the museum’s new exhibits will be on display through July 22. The Meridian Museum of Art is open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free.

Cherry said the art exhibits are brought to the community through sponsors, including the museum’s members, the City of Meridian, The Phil Hardin Foundation, the Mississippi Arts Commission, The Riley Foundation, the Paul and Sherry Broadhead Foundation, the Community Foundation of East Mississippi and Rea, Shaw, Giffin & Stuart LLP.