Introduction
Joan Lyons was an instrumental contributor to the existence and success of the Visual Studies Workshop. She has consistently made work in a range of media from 1962 through the present day. When I first saw her work, I was moved first by the sheer magnitude of it in the VSW collection as well as the diversity in media. Her exploration of media and the way she embraced technology epitomizes the spirit of change that came with the 1970s.
In conversation, we talked a bit about the struggle of maintaining an art practice while also being a mother and a wife. She said simply, “I learned to work faster.” It was incredibly important to Lyons not to lose her sense of self as an artist and it is my personal belief that this caused her to hold even harder to her drive to make work.
Lyons was interested in making works on plain paper rather than being bound to silver-based photographic paper. The explorations she embarked on are very painterly. You can clearly see the artist’s hand in the work. The images from the Artifacts series resonated with me most because of the both rich and electric color representations. These images are about giving power to important objects in her life. The color allows these objects to be infused with life and importance in a way they could not be represented in black and white. The act of looking at Lyons’s body of work in the Visual Studies Workshop collection is extremely exciting. The VSW Research Center holds a collection of beautifully rendered photographic drawings by a prolific image maker.
About Joan Lyons
Joan Lyons ca. 1980
Joan Lyons started the Visual Studies Workshop Press in 1972, which produced artists’ books through the VSW artist residency program. The VSW press produced roughly 400 artists’ books under her direction as coordinator. Although Lyons no longer works full time at VSW, she still teaches summer workshops and serves on the board.
Lyons was born in New York City in 1937. In 1957 she graduated with her BFA from Alfred University. She received her MFA in 1973 through SUNY Buffalo in photographic studies.
Lyons has taught and lectured since 1971 in printmaking, printing, photography and artists’ books. Her work is part of many permanent collections nationally and internationally including: George Eastman House, Rochester NY; DeCordova Museum, Lincoln MA; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Canada. KW
For more information on this artist, including VSW's holdings, please click here.
About the Exhibition
Movement: Selections from the First Decade of the Visual Studies Workshop is an online exhibition showcasing an assortment of over 100 pieces from working artists affiliated with the Visual Studies Workshop in the 1970s. These selected artists demonstrate the early years of a revolutionary new institution. [Read More]
