Robert Meganck
See What I Hear

Exhibition at two locations:
Artspace, 2833-A Hathaway Rd.
and Boyd Realty Group, 6784 Forest Hill Ave
Find both in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center, Richmond, VA 23225

August 25 - September 16, 2023

Digital Archival Prints
Limited Edition, Signed and numbered

Artist Statement

In early 2020 COVID-19 hit us like pins in a bowling alley. Except for social media, our ability to interact with others outside of our immediate household immediately stopped. We waited each day for the next shoe to drop, and then John Prine succumbed to the virus. I have been a fan of his music since his first album release. I have attended his concerts and anticipated the release of each new album. After his death, I was stuck trying to figure out how to cope with the fact that there would be no more John Prine songs. I took the lyrics from his song “Hello in There,” printed them on a 12”x12” page (the size of a 33 RPM album), and then drew an image inspired by the lyrics on top. It gave me a sense of closure. I followed this up with Leonard Cohen’s “The Ballad of an Absent Mare.” While we were still sequestered in our homes, I began posting a new song from my library each week. The result is a collection of images I titled “See What I Hear.”

Drawing is linear mark making. Drawing is a way of understanding the world. It is a way to record our ideas. Drawing is a personal activity. I illustrate to communicate an idea to an audience, but I draw for me. I may draw the figure, a building, or a still life as an observational exercise. It differs from photography because I can take a picture and remain relatively objective, but drawing is completely subjective. Every stroke is a conscious decision. Illustration is simply drawing with a point – a point of view. You can doodle abstract lines on paper and identify it as a drawing, but if those same lines are drawn as a map for the purpose of giving someone directions, it is an illustration. The term “illustration” shares the same root and meaning as the word “illumination,” to shed light on, to explain. I am hopeful that the “See What I Hear” portfolio can help shed light on some of my favorite songs.

— Robert Meganck

Biography

Robert Meganck is Professor Emeritus of illustration, graphic design, color theory, and digital imaging in the Department of Communication Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, and a freelance illustrator. He is a former chair of the department and past president of Communication Design, Inc. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Robert has received over 300 regional, national, and international awards for his research and professional practice in illustration and graphic design and has been recognized for excellence by such organizations as The Society of Illustrators New York, The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, American Illustration, and The Illustrators Club of Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. His work has been included in a variety of national reviews including Communication Arts Magazine’s Illustration and Design Annuals, American Illustration Annuals, Print Magazine’s Regional Design Annuals, The Society of Illustrators Annuals, and 3×3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration.

Style Weekly (September 5, 2007) named Robert Meganck one of Richmond’s top 25 most influential artists.

Website: meganck.com
See What I Hear: meganck.com/category/see-what-i-hear