Watercolor show

Watercolor paintings by Doug Hansen, assistant professor of Art and Design, will be featured in a show called "Picturing Letters" in the Lyles Gallery in the Speech Arts Building from Nov. 12 to Dec. 16.

The artworks are Doug's original illustrations from the book Letters to the Valley: A Harvest of Memories, by author and organic farmer David Mas Masumoto. Many of the illustrations first appeared in the Vision section of The Fresno Bee before they were incorporated in the book, published by Heyday Books of Berkeley CA. Hansen created 12 additional illustrations for the book, most of which will be included in the show. Tools and Masumoto family artifacts that served as models for the works will be on display.

Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. A reception will be held on Nov. 12, from 5-7 p.m. and will include a reading from the book by Masumoto. Artworks and copies of the book will be offered for sale.

Artist's Statement:

The art displayed in the Lyles Gallery was not intended for display in a gallery. These artworks are illustrations, created to serve a specialized storytelling role.

Usually the original art is seen only by the artist and the editors, designers and technical specialists review, scan and process the art for reproduction and publication. Only then does the public and the author see the illustration, where it is properly seen as part of a whole that includes the message and content of the words and the appearance and design of the printed page.

In the gallery, the public may notice evidence of the process that defines the creation of each illustration. Variations in size, shape and format of the art reveal its role as part of a puzzle of elements that come together to compose a page.

Spatters of paint, penciled annotations and corrections are evidence part of the workaday life of an illustration as it move from the artist drawing table to the newsroom or publishing house and may seem a little surprising in a gallery setting. Nevertheless, an illustrator does create art and this show is an opportunity for the public to observe first hand what they are only familiar with through printed reproductions.

To the artist, the best illustrations go beyond a literal depiction of objects or events in a story. Illustrations may create extra layers of meaning; suggest other possibilities within the text; and create a visual context for the words that invites the viewer to become a reader, and adds richness and texture to the experience of reader.

There is no question that the words come first, but the artist/illustrator engages in a collaborative creative effort with the author. In the working relationship that Hansen and Masumoto have developed, the artist is allowed his autonomy to craft an independent visual  statement, but that point of view continues to be one in harmony with the story and in sympathy with the author.