The Lemont Artists Guild is pleased to present, via Zoom, Caryl Yasko, who will talk about her career and life as a Mural Artist in Lemont, Chicago, and beyond. Among other murals, Caryl will discuss “Lemont Quarry Workers” mural in downtown Lemont. It was completed in 1975 and refurbished again (for a third time) in 2021. In developing this mural, she worked with the community to honor Lemont’s history of limestone cutting.
Caryl was one of the nation's first female public muralists and was at the forefront of an art movement that produced hundreds of large-scale works in the United States and Europe. Caryl graduated from Dominican College with a bachelor's degree in art in 1963. When her husband was awarded a Fullbright scholarship in 1968, the couple moved to Japan with their three young sons. She continued to develop as an artist and was influenced by the Japanese brush and ink technique, which she incorporated into her trademark style. The family moved to Chicago's south side in 1970 where she met and started working with her mentor, community artist William Walker. She was a founding artist in the Chicago Mural Group and taught public mural techniques at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and many colleges and universities, mostly in the Midwest.
Caryl is a classically trained artist who also works in cement, metal, fresco and wood. She developed a concrete fresco technique and a line-drawing system for public participation that follows her passion that art should be for the people:
"We started the mural movement because we believed that art should be available to everyone. We broke the barrier between the artist and the viewer and collaborated with people on the street and in communities to reflect what they wanted to say about what was important to them at the moment." – Caryl Yasko
Caryl worked with communities to help them express their voices which often led to exploring themes such as health care and immigration that are highly relevant topics today. Her emotionally compelling work is praised for its strong compositions and breathtaking use of color. She has won numerous awards and is published internationally in books and featured in films. She has held over 50 artist-in-residence positions. Above all else, Caryl Yasko has inspired countless individuals to develop their ideas and express their voices. Visit Caryl's website here.
Meetings are open to all; you do not have to be a LAG member or a Homer Library patron to attend.
For more information on the Lemont Artists Guild, click here.
Registration closes at 7pm on April 13, 2022.
