20 ON VIEW: FLOWERING STARS ON VIEW FLOWERING STARS: PRINTS BY DWIGHT POGUE APRIL 13–AUGUST 19, 2018 PRINTMAKER DWIGHT POGUE WAS A MEMBER of the Department of Art from 1979 to the spring of 2018. Flowering Stars celebrated and commemorated his re- tirement, showcasing the progression of his work in print over his almost 40 years at Smith. Natural forms preoccupied Pogue from the time he began his art studies in Kansas. At Kansas State College in the mid-1960s, Pogue often worked in screen printing, hand-cutting stencils to create organic composi- tions out of flat planes of color. A watershed moment in Pogue’s work came in 1982 when Smith College acquired a motorized flatbed offset proofing press, which made it possible to print layers and a range of textures in lithography. Shortly thereafter he began to work in earnest on flower subjects, first inspired by the book Flower and Fruit Prints of the Early 18th and 19th Centuries, found in Smith’s Hillyer Art Library, and later through his own photographs of plants at Smith’s Lyman Conservatory and other botanical gardens. In 1984 Pogue founded the Smith College Print Workshop, an annual program that brings prominent visual artists and master printers to the studio classroom to collaborate on a limited-edition print. This program continues to be an important tool for teaching students and the public about fine-art printmaking. Throughout the years, Pogue has continued to add new media and approaches to his art including dig- ital printing, developing new techniques for lithographic printing and championing the use of safer solvents in college and university print shops. His book Printmaking Revolution: New Advancements in Technology, Safety and Sustainability, was published in 2012. Pogue allied his interests in botany and environ- mental protection in his latest works, in which flowers are rendered as stylized forms in bright colors. These “super- hero” blossoms draw upon the imagery of comic books to present a compelling image of natural survival in an uncertain future. Gallery talks by the artist were attended by more than 150 people, from fourth-graders at the Smith College Campus School to Smith alumnae attending Reunion weekend. Artists and colleagues from throughout the Pioneer Valley celebrated Pogue’s career. SCMA members joined the artist for a behind-the-scenes visit to the print- making studio in Hillyer Hall where Pogue has been a guiding presence for four decades. The overwhelming response to Flowering Stars may best be expressed by one visitor’s reply to the survey question “What is most memorable about your visit to SCMA today?” “The lithography of flowers by recently retired Professor Pogue. The precision and beauty astound me.” This exhibition was supported by the Louise Walker Blaney, class of 1939, Fund for Exhibitions. For detailed information about the exhibition and related programs visit the Flowering Stars website: smith.edu/artmuseum/On-View/Past-Exhibitions