Please join in congratulating this year’s Ethel Armstrong Rolapp Endowed Award for Excellence recipient, Rachel Urban. A graduating Printmaking major, Rachel says of her work: “The main intent of my work is to create visual illustrations and metaphors for the intensely emotional states that we experience while recalling dreams, memories, and feelings. My work is influenced by my own life experiences, so the content is quite personal and self-reflective, often containing my writing and focusing on feelings such as sadness, infatuation, reflection, and isolation. While making work that confronts my own personal emotions is a cathartic process for me, I hope to make accessible, relatable images that will stir the delicate feelings that are concealed deeply within other people as well. I make editions of multi-color and combination-process prints and artist books, and while I have worked in many different printmaking mediums, I am most passionate about collagraphy, screenprinting, and lithography. I am drawn to these processes because I can use them to produce subtle, soft textures which emphasize my dream-like imagery.”
Congratulations on your award, Rachel!
Pictured: “A Dream”, Rachel Urban, 2018.
About the Ethel Armstrong Rolapp Endowed Award for Excellence:
When his wife passed away, Howard Horrocks Rolapp wanted to do something to honor her and her love of art. Because she graduated from the University of Utah’s College of Fine Arts in 1927, Rolapp decided to fund an endowment for the U’s Art Department that would outlive himself, his children and grandchildren-an endowment that would continue to grow, to inspire students and to generate a cash award in perpetuity. In 1985, Rolapp established The Ethel Armstrong Rolapp Award for Excellence in the Fine Arts. First given in 1986, it is presented to the most highly qualified and talented graduating bachelor or master of fine arts student. Selection is based on the recipient’s total creative performance while at the U. We are grateful for the generous support of the Rolapp Family for our students and program.