Dustyn Bork is an artist working in painting and printmaking. Bork was born in Monroe, Michigan, and relocated to Batesville, Arkansas, to teach studio and art history courses at Lyon College, where he currently serves as Professor of Art. He earned his Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.
Bork's paintings focus on the built landscape from his observable surroundings. He experiments with abstracting forms and structures lifted from their original context. The paintings quote building facades, they remove the compositions from the more traditional rectangle and instead are shaped pieces to reflect various architectonic forms. Each composition is meant to represent the beauty implicit in everyday surfaces and structures in various levels of decay and renewal. He wants viewers to make connections between the colors, lines, textures, and forms in his artwork and those found in their interactions with the constructed environment.
Shannon Frazeur, communications coordinator at ARTx3 Campus, sat down to interview Bork about his residency in the ART WORKS on Main building during the summer of 2023.
Shannon: Could you give me an overview of your residency?
Dustyn: Each week I taught a workshop. I’ve been here a month, and this is my final week—wrapping up the residency. So, each week I taught a workshop. The first one was screen printing, or rather silkscreen, serigraphy—a really easy stencil cut. So, that was the first week. All age groups.
The second week was color and construct. We did some freeform kind of paintings looking at color theory—not really worried about composition—and then on Thursday we cut them up and we made compositions thinking about some of the color theory principles that we learned about. For instance, warm-cool contrast, creating depth, color temperature, and also atmospheric perspective with things getting bluer and less distinct as they go back. They could cut, they could rip—just an interesting approach to collage.
For the third week, I did relief printmaking. I wanted to make that user-friendly as well. Sometimes people think that printmaking isn’t for them because there’s so much of an investment—materials and time and resources. Let’s figure out some printmaking—like we did screen printing the first week with stencils—what are some ways we can make printmaking more affordable, easier to do at home, kind of DIY, simpler materials…and so we explored alternative materials for carving, for linoleum, for relief printing…
And for the fourth week—this week—I’m working with young kids doing the building of color. Day 1…similar to the adult group—this is ages 5 to 12—they explored color in simpler terms. “When you think of yellow, what does yellow make you think of?” There’s an object … someone could say it’s the sun, a banana, a taxi. “Is there something that yellow makes you feel, etc.?” Sunny … curious … excited. And so we explored that and then tonight we’re cutting those up and building homes out of those colors that they explored. I’m really excited for it. They were really excited to see the sample piece I created.
Each of these weeks, my plan was, I wanted to challenge myself by working with the same material, the same medium that I was teaching that week in the workshop. So, during week one I was doing stencils, a lot of layering, ghost-like images of house on top of house but making the process of it becoming dilapidated or abandoned or renovated or restored and changing over time.
During the second week, I did collages inspired by some of the buildings and some of the stories that some of the people have connected—connecting for instance, with Chandra Griffin and Terrance at the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal project—and seeing some homes that were in the process of being raised. They’re working on over 200 this year alone—they were very gracious in giving me information and allowing me to tag along and see some of this process, so I made some work about that.
During the third week, I carved some blocks…carved a block for Victory Faith Church, which is on the corner of 16th and Poplar—a very historic building built in 1910 originally as Presbyterian Church. It became Center Presbyterian Church and then they moved locations and then about 20 years ago it became Victory Faith Church. I had a chance to attend a service and everyone was so gracious and friendly and welcoming. They made me feel at home and so I wanted to make a piece to give back.
And then this last week I’m kind of wrapping up and doing paintings and collages. That was kind of the plan of what I wanted to do coming in…just simply be inspired by Pine Bluff, get to know the community and know why some of the buildings are here…some of the history and make connections with some of the people and then just generally make work that’s inspired by Pine Bluff but also leave some things here as well. That was kind of my overarching goal.
S: Architecture and buildings have been a big theme as part of your exhibition that was up before and during your residency. Could you talk a bit about your interest in that and then how it was part of the artwork you created during your residency?
D: Yeah, that’s a great question. For me, I think that architecture really speaks to our stories…Architecture is the story of people as much as it is the story of buildings…like how we occupy spaces, how we choose to design our spaces and the places we inhabit, but also how we go about living our daily lives. So, to get to know a place, to truly experience a place, buildings are the way that we connect with individuals. Buildings are the way that make a first impression of a community or maybe give you a sense of home or nostalgia for a place you’ve visited. When you take those photographs of a place you’ve been, a lot of times people will take a picture of themselves in front of a building or a landmark, and then it becomes a reminder of that experience…it’s a memory of that experience.
And buildings, the life of a building can take a lot of different pathways or can go different routes. A lot of times I think architecture is not just a story of us but it’s also a really good metaphor for art as well. It’s hard to know when a painting is finished. It’s hard to know when a print is finished, similar to a building. It’s hard to know when a building is finished. Is it finished when someone moves in and occupies it? Is it at its best when it’s just a drawing or a plan or a blueprint? Is it at its best when it has been neglected and then someone else sees the potential in it and restores it to its former glory or even more so and then uses it in a new way just like the ARTSpace here—the Arts and Science Center did an amazing job with this renovation, restoration and to use this space.I think that architecture is just a great metaphor for the process of art. There’s a lot of overlap between an architect and an artist, or a builder and an artist, or someone who is thinking about communicating a vision as the artist.
S: Tell me about the manhole cover shirts you made.
D: Yeah, I was exploring some of the buildings downtown to get inspiration for some of the series that I was working on and I noticed a manhole cover that said Pine Bluff on it. It was one of the only ones that I saw in town. Sometimes they’ll have designs on them. This one said “Pine Bluff”…And I’ve done it in the past and in other places. I’ve done it in Batesville, but Batesville doesn’t have any that says “Batesville” on them. They all say like “Little Rock” or “Memphis Foundry". So I thought it would be really neat to print some shirts and leave them at the ARTSpace as just … “Hey, here’s something that I noticed while I was here and what I’ve done.” And something I’ve done in the past that I could make some shirts and kind of give back.
I was looking at this book before I got here and it said “Give more than you take,” and I like that idea and I was thinking about it—because I don’t know that I’ve given Pine Bluff more than I’ve taken away from it, but it’d be great if there are some things that I can make and leave here for people to sort of feel that sense of connection because I love Pine Bluff. I love Pine Bluff and I love the people of Pine Bluff and I wanted to make some shirts to commemorate that. So, I have a cool shirt to wear. So, if people ask me about my residency, boom, I’ve got this shirt—Pine Bluff. But then I could leave some here for people as well and sell some to support the Arts and Science Center space and the mission that you all have, which I just am a big fan of. Pine Bluff is very near and dear to my heart, so I printed those. And then after that I printed some and then I got a lot of people that were interested and wanted shirts and were curious about the shirts. I went and printed some more and I found another drain cover that had a fish on it and was beautiful and really interesting, so I had to go back and print that too.
S: What are your plans for the artwork you created while you were here?
D: This has been awesome just to explore and to experiment and give some opportunities to maybe fail in a safe space to fail. I felt very supported here at the residency, at the ARTSpace, but also by Pine Bluff in general. So, some of my goals were to make some things that could become a part of my general portfolio, but also to not worry about if it had to manifest into an exhibition or be sent for a particular show. I just wanted to see where it would go.
But now, with the work that I’ve been making, I’m really excited about doing some things with it because it feels so new, especially with this series that I’m titling “Excavations”. I could see that going in a lot of different directions and I’m excited about people seeing it and talking about the subject matter and the content for this series after having the opportunity to meet and work with Terrance, the excavator driver at the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal project and also seeing where it can take my work next. How it’s inspiring in a slow, building way—that it can inspire me to be in another location and make work inspired by that place—not in a superficial way … not in a facade way of just like what’s on the surface but what’s below the surface, what’s you know making those connections.
I like this quote and I included it a couple of times in some of my Instagram posts or social media posts and it’s by Giorgio Morandi, who is one of my favorite artists. I was sort of picturing myself as if I tried to make work like Giorgio Morandi, who rarely left his house for 30 years and did a lot of still life paintings and drawings and prints. And if he did a landscape, it was looking out his window. And I related to that because it was making work about the space but I also kind of feel like “that’s not me” and my experience. And I like traveling and I like to see how the work can take me in interesting directions.
“One can travel this world and see nothing. To achieve understanding, it is necessary not to see many things but to look hard at what you do see.”—Giorgio Morandi
So, that really applied to me and inspired me to really think about what’s here, to see what’s here and just to not take anything for granted. So, I really appreciated that.
S: What country is he from?
D: He was from Italy. He only left Italy three times and it was later in life, once his art career was very well advanced. He was from Vilonia, he stayed in Vilonia, and if he traveled it was generally to retreat from seeing people and he went to the Italian countryside and he only left Italy a few times and he wasn’t a big fan…And I’ve been to Italy and I love it and I went this summer and there’s photographs that I took in Italy that are very similar to the photographs that I took in Pine Bluff for visual inspiration. Like, if I showed you photos side by side and said “Which one is in Pine Bluff and which one is in Italy?”, you’d be hard-pressed to know for sure which one. Arches. Columns. Walls with beautiful layered texture. Is it Pine Bluff, Arkansas or is it Italy? Is it Rome? So, you know, there’s a connection to where you’re at—it’s kind of like mindfulness and appreciating where you’re at. Being in the moment and finding the beauty where you’re at. So that helps me too going back to Batesville to think about being inspired by my surroundings, being inspired by my environment.
S: Yeah, because a lot of the works in “Blueprints” were inspired by Batesville houses, correct?
D: Yes, and travels. There’s nothing in that show that predates being here that was inspired by Pine Bluff. And so, if you see the work now, you see how it was inspired by Pine Bluff and familiar landmarks that people might recognize, like the Pines Hotel or Victory Faith Church, RJ’s, some of the homes. I hope, my goal is that it speaks to people from the community and who visit Pine Bluff. There’s a lot here.
S: Since you’re from the Detroit area, I’m curious if you see similarities or differences in Pine Bluff versus the Detroit area?
D: Yeah, and the difference is, people know what’s going on in Detroit. Detroit for the longest time was a story about “what if, and what was” and it became a story about “what’s happening now” and a new energy. Artists led the way on that. Musicians, artists, were some of the first to come in and say, “Look at the potential here. Everything’s here”. It was a shrinking city. Similarities to Pine Bluff … Me, as an outsider coming in and looking at it objectively … that’s what I’m seeing, that’s what I’m thinking, but I didn’t just want to have my impression of it—I wanted to talk to people. So, talking to people at the library, talking to people and seeing that project and what that’s meant for Main Street…seeing Main Street now looking like it’s about to explode and the difference is…it’s just right on the cusp of amazing things happening. There’s so much potential.
And I think the difference is, the New York Times wrote about Detroit right before it had a new Renaissance. Artists came down, did murals, occupied some of those spaces, galleries…that same thing is happening in Pine Bluff. The New York Times should come to write an article about it. That’s the difference.
There are amazing things happening here—it’s all the potential, it’s all the great things. I’ve been well-entertained—the culture is thriving here. I’ve been well-entertained thanks to the Arts and Science Center. I saw Rock of Ages the second week I was here and Live at 5. I’ve been going to RJ’s every single Wednesday. I didn’t miss a single one of the Blues jam sessions. And there have been so many talented musicians and talking with people at the church that I visited, Victory Faith. People are quick to identify the weaknesses here in Pine Bluff, and here in Arkansas. But those things that are so great about Pine Bluff, that are amazing—the people, the potential…It’s a shrinking city, but yet there’s so much that’s happening here. That story’s not getting out. That’s keeping people away, and it shouldn’t be.
So, I wanted to also—and I’m not an influencer or anything, but I do know a lot of artists that are in other areas, other parts of the world, that are in Seattle and New York and Berlin—and they’re looking at what I’m doing here and they’re like, “That’s really cool. I want to do that residency. How do I do that residency? How do I go visit Pine Bluff because that looks amazing.” So it’s just little by little, people getting the word out. Come travel here. There are some great things. If you think there are some issues in Pine Bluff, what are you going to do to help? What are you going to do to solve it? Leave some money here in Pine Bluff, you know? Leave more than you take.
S: How does this residency here compare with some of the other residencies you’ve done?
D: Yeah, I’m so spoiled here. This is a great thing. I’ve got my apartment there and I’ve got my studio there. For a few days I did not go farther than those two places, which can make me feel anxious or cabin fever, right, but I need to get outside. I need to see people. But if someone wanted to have the experience of just having access to their studio, oh my gosh, such close proximity. That’s amazing. That’s great. And I loved it. Spoiled. The apartment is amazing—all of the amenities with the kitchen, you know. Great place. Really cool, inspiring architecture. The studio’s great, well lit, very spacious, and a lot of residencies either have one but they don’t have both of those things. Or everything’s good but you have to pay for it, so you’re self-funded.
Or there aren’t as many opportunities to connect. It was excellent to have Amani here at the same time that I was. The Arkansas National Museum for Women in the Arts exhibition coincided with my being here. What an amazing exhibition. And the Rozenweig at the same time and that reception…meeting some artists, making connections with Jonathan Wright at UAPB and Karen DeJarnette at UAPB, Markeith Woods — he was going to visit and do a studio critique but he didn’t get the chance because he just moved to Atlanta. But we did a virtual one, so that was really helpful.Those are the differences I’ve noticed and that’s why I would recommend it to other artists as well because you’re really going to have an opportunity to get to work on what you want to do and have a lot of tools and resources to support that. Just time and space to work as an artist is essential and so rare.
So, I’ve done a residency in Italy—there were four artists there at the same time…I did a residency in Belgium—that was printmaking-centric and that one you were expected to know what you were doing with printmaking and you didn’t get a lot of support otherwise and not a lot of interaction with other sort of art resources other than that facility. I did a lot of traveling on my own and excursions on my own. I did the Mark Rothko residency in Latvia, which was awesome, a really amazing experience. There were only ten other artists in the museum. And this honestly is comparable to that if you think about the proximity to making art, seeing art, and getting your art to be part of the collection at the Rothko Center. I think the experience here is very akin to that. You’re staying on location, you’ve got the ARTSpace, you’re physically a part of the ARTSpace. There’s also the black box theater next door and the museum — you’ve got all that art over there.
S: Do you have any special projects coming up for the school year?
D: I bought that press just on a whim—that fruit press that’s used to make wine. And I got it the same day we were doing our printing. And I was like, “If I can fashion this into a block printing press, wouldn’t that be cool. I don’t know if it will work.” I tested it out, made some modifications, got it to work, and we used it that evening for the printmaking workshop—it was beautiful. I put it on Instagram. And my students were like, “I’m so excited for printmaking!” (which I’m teaching this fall) “I hope I get to do some things like that.” And we will, so I’m really excited and enthused about taking some of these lessons and being able to bring them back. I sort of treat the classroom as a workshop. “What are you bringing in? What are you going to do with this?” and not just teaching it in a sort of closed, calm response manner.
S: How many classes are you teaching this fall?
D: I’m teaching quite a few. It seems like a lot on paper but a few of them are one-credits. I’m teaching Drawing I, Printmaking, Advanced Concepts (which is a part studio class, part seminar class to sort of practice being an artist), and then I teach a one-credit first-year experience class with a focus on creativity. We get to pick out the topic. I’m really excited about that. I’m teaching a one-credit travel course to New York City, which we’re going to go for kind of like an extended weekend over fall break, go see the art in person that we talk about in class. And then I am teaching a two-credit gallery practicum class because I’m the director of the Kresge Gallery. And I really love that class because—it’s a very experiential opportunity for the students to see not just how to operate a gallery or how to hang a show and de-install an exhibition, but learn about what the role of a gallery director is. What is the role of a gallery director or someone working in arts administration? And so I’m teaching that class. We cap it at three people so they get a good experience—meeting the artists, working with the artists, and learning how to work the gallery and all the PR involved with that.
You can see more of Dustyn Bork’s work at dustynbork.com/ or on Instagram @dustyn_bork_art.
To learn more about the residency program and its benefits and how to apply, please visit artx3.org/artist-residency.
