Professor Diane Levesque
All Stories

On Thursday, Nov. 1, Professor Diane Levesque, among many other Carthage and University of Wisconsin-Parkside students and faculty, celebrated the opening of her exhibition, “Penny Dreadfuls,” which is currently on display at the Foundation Gallery at UW-Parkside.

The exhibit draws intriguing connections between penny dreadfuls, which were popular Gothic novels in the Victorian era, and Staffordshire figurines, which often depicted macabre events in an oddly sentimental light.

Of the figurines, Prof. Levesque explains, “These pretty folk art objects sold as mantelpiece decorations that commemorated these events and were the equivalent of three-dimensional ‘penny dreadfuls’ and satisfied the need of pre-Victorian and Victorian tastes for sensationalism in the public imagination. Many of these figures seem to simplify and disguise the actual living conditions of the working poor during this time, yet they were very popular with middle class consumers.”

Her paintings interpret the dark, sentimental themes of Staffordshire figurines and the Victorian intrigue for Gothic elements by, as she elaborates, “exaggerating the implied violence and sexuality of the themes through the amplification of the gaudiness and randomness of both the application of color and decorative motifs,” as well as removing the sentimentality of the source material. Her paintings provide an insightful commentary on material culture studies, which she continues to use in exploration of modern-day social and political issues.

For the first time, coordination efforts between Carthage and UW-Parkside provided shuttle services for students from both institutions, allowing students easy access to Prof. Levesque’s exhibit, as well as other exhibits at Parkside and the current Carthage exhibit in the H. F. Johnson Gallery, “Chapel.”

Prof. Levesque’s exhibition continues through Nov. 16 at the Foundation Gallery, located on UW-Parkside’s campus. The Foundation Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Congratulations to Prof. Levesque for a successful opening, and be sure to visit her exhibition while you can!