Art @ Penrose: Bridging Buildings II

This is the first post in an occasional series on works of art on display in Penrose Library.

Research and post by Phil Stefani

Bridging Buildings II - Brian Paulsen – 1st floor on map case wall

The image, a plastic engraving from 1998, is emblematic of Paulsen’s black and white engraving works from the 1980s through 2000s, though he has also produced watercolors and colored illustrations at various points in his career. Bridging Buildings II features a cartoonish take on scenes of everyday life present in much of Paulsen’s work; the surreal juxtaposition between a television, chair, and tiled floor with the arc of tin men connecting the buildings suggests the modern influence of collage on the traditional form of engraving. This dark yet whimsical piece was gifted to Whitman College by former professor of art Keiko Hara. Hara worked as an art professor at Whitman for over thirty years and donated several prints to the library from the “Colorprint Collection: Spanning the States in ’98,” a nation-wide art show featuring printmaking works from an artist in each state.