John Dilg on the Legacy of Tom Aprile
John Dilg on the Legacy of Tom Aprile
Around 60 people gathered to hear John Dilg, UI Professor of Art, present an enlightening gallery talk entitled "Retracing the Path of the Labyrinth—A Close Look at Tom Aprile's Real and Mythic Daily Exits” in the second floor north reading room of the UI Main Library on Wednesday, September 28.
In addition to sharing the same birthday, Dilg and Aprile were colleagues and friends before Aprile passed away suddenly last year. Dilg, with the assistance of Kathy Edwards, UIMA chief curator, and Laura Young, Aprile’s widow, assembled a memorial show that can be enjoyed by countless visitors and students in a quiet room.
Dilg related the joy of shifting through Aprile’s copious work, whose “obsessive skills” he praised. As the gallery talk moved around the room, addressing individual art pieces, attendees explored the concept of the artificial nature of the suburbs and the idea of furniture as both prop and icon of the suburban experience. Aprile’s wooden sculptures and works on paper physically explore the arena of the labyrinth. Dilg pointed out the philosophical connotation of labyrinths over mazes; the former has just one way through to the other side, suggesting that difficulties can all eventually be overcome.
The lecture shed light on Aprile’s biographical inspirations. A trip to Nigeria yielded not only malaria, but a meaningful exchange with African sculpture. In addition to serving as the material, wood is the very subject of Aprile’s sculptures of embedded chairs and cupboards. Dilg also spoke about the materials used in the works on paper, including acrylics, black ink, pastels, colored pencils, collage and simple line-marking chalk applied as “underpainting” with an oven mitt.
Most moving was how clearly Dilg enjoyed the work, occasionally observing “what a beautiful piece.” The audience also actively appreciated the pieces, whether noting the fusion of cityscape and landscape, or asking thoughtful questions about process and influence.
Dilg noted the intriguing progression of an artist, which can be witnessed in the spark of a motif in early work and transformed over time into a major aesthetic and intellectual thesis. The exhibition was arranged based on formal relationships, not chronology. Two juxtaposed works on paper—created 25 years apart—illustrate an uncanny similarity of concepts.
The evening served as a testament to a formative teacher at the university and renown practitioner. The exhibition, Labyrinths and Other Daily Exits: The Art of Tom Aprile, can be seen through the fall semester.
