by Celina Dietzel ‘17

Knox College Artist in Residence Mike Levine focused on experimentation in art, teaching an experimental printmaking course, and showcasing his installation Weird Apartment at The Box Gallery during fall term 2016.

Weird Apartment consisted of prints, projected video, overhead projectors, and a live performance. Levine's work focuses on autobiography, history, and invention. Using drawing as a foundation, Levine looks to process to inform his compositions. His experimentation allows him to stretch traditional forms and create new narratives.

In the course he instructed, Levine put a similar focus on experimentation, said Allison Pritzl '17.

"The most profound thing I learned was I don't need to take art as seriously as I have been. I don't need to treat my process as sacred or my messages as political. Images can just be images, material can just be material. It doesn't have to be conceptual, metaphorical, or psychoanalytical to be a piece of artwork," she said.

The Artist in Residence program, which began in 2009, allows students to work with styles and forms that they might not otherwise be exposed to at Knox.

"The program is a real asset to us because, as a small department, we don't have somebody who specializes in everything. It allows us to bring in artists whose own work overlaps with things the students are interested in," said Associate Professor of Art Mark Holmes.

Levine has presented his work across the country and has been featured in museums and galleries including The Georgia Museum of Art, Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Joseloff Gallery at The Hartford Art School in Connecticut, and Art Space in Connecticut.

Levine graduated with a bachelor's degree in studio art from the University of Connecticut and a master's degree in printmaking from The Lamar Dodd School of Art at The University of Georgia, where he has taught printmaking and foundation art courses.

The Knox College Artist in Residence Program is made possible by a grant from Blick Art Materials.