Julian Turner3/15/2015Print MakingAbdi Farah ShellI found this dry point aquatint print in the American University Katzen Art Gallery. Farahs work was being displayed under the PelicanBomb artist organization based in New Orleans aimed at giving exposure to local artists and promoting community art while also making the art affordable. Completed in 2013, Farahs work consists of 3 separate prints of the same subject. The subject is a football helmet and player. What struck me about the first print was the overwhelming use of negative black space. This space and the subject matter of football brings to mind Friday night lights games and reminds me of watching high school football games. I liked this set because the progression never lets you see the whole face. The final print shows the helmet half off the head and it makes me think of the game being over, but nothing shows if it was a win or a loss. The use of line quality is different in every print. The first one uses fine liens to show light reflecting off the helmet. However, the second print uses less fine lines and more hues of white, and splotches of dark which show the dirt on the jersey. The last print really highlights the idea of it being at night and large lights shining down from above. The gallery did not have much to say about the artist, however I learned that Farah is from originally from Baltimore and attended the University of Pennsylvania. Farah was also featured and won a reality TV show about artists called Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. Farahs art has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Brooklyn, Baltimore, D.C, Miami and New Orleans. Farahs success through reality TV shows that these types of art forms are still popular and can appeal to the masses if presented in a way that is popular. Exposing viewers to art through reality television is a good way to engage a demographic that might not necessarily have exposure to art and print making specifically.