2008 Woodie Awards
Focusing an international eye on art
Brigid Marshall - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Arts
In 1989, near the end of the Cold War, printmaker Dennis O'Neil crossed over the Atlantic to Russia - an extended visit intended to connect the two countries through art.
Two years later, he returned to begin a collaborative printmaking studio in Moscow, the Moscow Studio.
The now-61-year-old was a United States-to-Russia commuter for five years, making 27 trips back and forth. O'Neil now holds the position of director of Hand Print Workshop International, a nonprofit international exchange and collaboration studio he founded.
Coming to the UI as the visiting artist in printmaking, he will lecture today at 7 p.m. in Art Building West. He will speak about his past and present role in uniting international artists and hold a printmaking workshop Tuesday.
"He's worked extensively with international artists," said Anita Jung, a UI associate professor of printmaking. "He was the first to go to Russia after the fall - he created the relationship between [Russian and American artists]."
O'Neil believes collaboration among artists from different countries can yield extraordinary results.
"My major focus is in the studio itself," he said. "I try to bring artists here from other countries, such as people who have a different perspective on their culture and their country, and it makes interesting art."
The printmaker originally studied history at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, until the end of his junior year, when he switched to art.
"I fell in love with printmaking during my super senior year in college. I was kind of a feisty student," he said, hesitating. "Well, I got into a fighting match - not a fistfight or anything - but I got into this fight with my painting professor, which was dumb, and he flunked me, so I couldn't graduate on time."
The following year, O'Neil retook painting with a teacher who introduced printmaking to him. After attending Ohio University for graduate school, O'Neil traveled to Moscow for an art exhibition after the Soviet Union fell.
"Russia, when I went there, it was a very interesting time because it had just stopped being communist," he said. "The people were interested in trying to find out who they were, and they did that in a variety of ways."
And more than a decade later, O'Neil continues to play a vital role in Russian-American artist relations. He fosters this community by inviting Russian printmaking students to the Washington, D.C.-based Corcoran College of Art and Design, where O'Neil is a professor.
"He's innovative and very creative in terms of the medium of his art," Jung said. "He truly has a commitment to international activity more so than any other American artists who think they're the center of the art world."
E-mail DI reporter Brigid Marshall at:
brigid-marshall@uiowa.edu
Two years later, he returned to begin a collaborative printmaking studio in Moscow, the Moscow Studio.
The now-61-year-old was a United States-to-Russia commuter for five years, making 27 trips back and forth. O'Neil now holds the position of director of Hand Print Workshop International, a nonprofit international exchange and collaboration studio he founded.
Coming to the UI as the visiting artist in printmaking, he will lecture today at 7 p.m. in Art Building West. He will speak about his past and present role in uniting international artists and hold a printmaking workshop Tuesday.
"He's worked extensively with international artists," said Anita Jung, a UI associate professor of printmaking. "He was the first to go to Russia after the fall - he created the relationship between [Russian and American artists]."
O'Neil believes collaboration among artists from different countries can yield extraordinary results.
"My major focus is in the studio itself," he said. "I try to bring artists here from other countries, such as people who have a different perspective on their culture and their country, and it makes interesting art."
The printmaker originally studied history at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio, until the end of his junior year, when he switched to art.
"I fell in love with printmaking during my super senior year in college. I was kind of a feisty student," he said, hesitating. "Well, I got into a fighting match - not a fistfight or anything - but I got into this fight with my painting professor, which was dumb, and he flunked me, so I couldn't graduate on time."
The following year, O'Neil retook painting with a teacher who introduced printmaking to him. After attending Ohio University for graduate school, O'Neil traveled to Moscow for an art exhibition after the Soviet Union fell.
"Russia, when I went there, it was a very interesting time because it had just stopped being communist," he said. "The people were interested in trying to find out who they were, and they did that in a variety of ways."
And more than a decade later, O'Neil continues to play a vital role in Russian-American artist relations. He fosters this community by inviting Russian printmaking students to the Washington, D.C.-based Corcoran College of Art and Design, where O'Neil is a professor.
"He's innovative and very creative in terms of the medium of his art," Jung said. "He truly has a commitment to international activity more so than any other American artists who think they're the center of the art world."
E-mail DI reporter Brigid Marshall at:
brigid-marshall@uiowa.edu
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