“Making Change” exhibition on campus by Luther’s faculty member

“Making Change,” a collection of works responding to issues of hatred and violence, will be on display in the Center for Faith and Life Gallery March 6 through April 6. David Kamm, Luther College assistant professor of art and Gallery Coordinator, created all of the works in the exhibit.

In conjunction with the show, the Paideia Texts and Issues Lecture, “Turn and Face the Strange: Creative Activity as a Catalyst for Change” will be presented by Kamm and Lise Kildegaard, Luther professor of English, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 20 in the Center for Faith and Life Recital Hall.  A reception will follow in Qualley Lounge.

The gallery and the Tests and Issues Lecture are open to the public with no charge for admission.

“Making Change” consists of graphite drawings and mixed media pieces created in response to the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The show also includes several collages created from fragments of the “White Man’s Bible,” a publication by a white supremacist group in Montana.

In addition to Kamm’s work as assistant professor of art and art gallery coordinator, he also assists in management of the Luther College Fine Arts Collection. His primary teaching responsibilities are printmaking and art foundations. His studio work focuses on prints, collages and mixed-media pieces that explore relationships of our physical and spiritual natures to social issues. His work has been included in more than 130 group and solo exhibitions.

Kamm has presented at several sessions of national art conferences, including the College Art Association and FATE (Foundations in Art: Theory and Education). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in art education from Wartburg College, and his Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in printmaking from the University of Iowa.

Kamm is a part of an exhibition called “Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate,” which showcases the diverse work of 39 artists who have transformed thousands of anti-Semitic and racist books into a dynamic exhibition. It began in 2003 when the Montana Human Rights Network in Helena, Montana, acquired more than 4,000 copies of white supremacist books from a defecting leader of one of the most virulent hate groups in the nation. The Human Rights Network, through a partnership with the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, implemented its vision of transforming the books into works of art with a positive message.

More information on the “Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate” project can be found at www.speakingvolumes.net.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,050, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://www.luther.edu.