Roy R. Behrens

Roy R. Behrens (1946-)
"Donfe Ca Choo"
Altered Book, 1994
LFAC #2002:05:38

Biography

Roy R. Behrens was born on June 27, 1946, in Independence, Iowa. After study at Pond Farm in 1964 with Bauhaus potter Marguerite Wildenhain, Behrens earned a BA degree in art from the University of Northern Iowa in 1968. He taught grades 7-12 from 1968-69 before being a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War from 1969-1972. He received his MA in art education from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1972.

Since 1972, he has taught graphic design, illustration and design history at the University of Northern Iowa (1972-77 and 1990-current). He also taught at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, from 1977-87, and the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1987-1990.

Behrens has served as the art director of numerous publications, authored several books, and written more than one hundred essays and articles. Titles of some of his books are Art & Camouflage (1981); Design in the Visual Arts (1984); Illustration as an Art (1986); False Colors (2002); Cook Book (2005); and Recalling Pond Farm (2005). He also has been the designer and/or illustrator of books, short stories, and poetry by numerous contemporary writers. Behrens has been featured in interviews on NOVA, BBC Radio, Iowa Public Television and in several documentary films. He has received numerous awards for his work.

The altered book in the Fine Arts Collection is part of the Pond Farm Collection of art acquired in recognition of the education given students in summer workshops in Guerneville, CA, taught by potter Marguerite Wildenhain. It is a single open spread book which cannot be paged through, installed in a black metal frame, covered in glass. The book contains collaged paper in black and white with accent colors of green, yellow and orange. The book was produced in 1994 and is one of a series of 10 such art works created during the 1990s by the artist.

Ref: Roy R. Behrens, Professor of Art, http://www.uni.edu/artdept/behrens.html Who’s Who in American Art, 28th ed. (2008); Ripples: Marguerite Wildenhain and her Pond Farm Students. Curated by Billie Sessions. San Bernardino, CA: California State University, 2002; Pond Farm Collection: Works of Art Created by Students Who Studied with Marguerite Wildenhain at her Pond Farm Studio. Text by Jane Kemp. Decorah, IA: Luther College, 2003; Fine Arts Collection files

Updated 02/09/2009