2011 Art Print

Lou Knoble – 2011 Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art Poster Artist

The 2011 Madison Chautauqua Art Print will be released September 16th at the annual Poster Signing Event at West End Gallery, 302 West Second Street, from 5-7 pm. Two hundred prints are available, and prints will be signed and numbered by the artist. (Left to right, Chautauqua poster sponsors Stacey Field and Harry Dobbins of Shooters and the Downtowner restaurants, artist Lou Knoble, and print sponsor George Jackson of Digital Printing. Photo courtesy of Madison Courier)

Purchase your print!

During the festival, the Art Print Posters are available at the Madison Chautauqua Information Tent at Broadway & First Streets.

After September 25th, the 2011 limited edition print may be ordered online at the Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website or purchased at the Madison Visitors Center, 601 West First Street in downtown Madison while supplies last. ($45 each).

About the Artist

We are honored to have Lou Knoble as our 2011 Poster Artist. Lou was one of the Founders of the 1971 downtown art fair that became the Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art®.

“In each one of my paintings you will find five little squares in succession hidden among the images painted. They have been a regular fixture in my paintings for quite some time, though not present at the start of my painting career. These squares now constitute a verification that the painting is indeed an original Knoble. When I started painting seriously in my senior year of college, I was basically an abstract expressionist, a student and product of the 50s. My instructor was Peter Busa, close friend and compatriot of Jackson Pollack, and of course an advocate of the abstract expressionist movement that was captivating the art world at the time. If you saw the movie about Pollack then you understand, as a painter of that era, our approach to painting and the endless search to put paint on canvass in various ways devoid of any realistic subject matter. I came to Madison, Indiana, in 1964 to accept a position as art department head at Madison Consolidated Schools and continued to paint in a purely abstract manner. Abstraction was not an accepted mode of painting within the Madison community. Slowly my painting evolved, however I kept a series of squares in every painting, it was like I could secretly say or relate to the viewers my feelings about art and in particular painting. Eventually the squares became smaller and less noticeable and ended up where they are today.”

Lou Knoble was born in Buffalo, NY, where he attended high school and college. He lived across the street from the Museum of Science where he attended classes after school from 8 to 18 yrs old. He received honors and wonderful experiences at the museum, which became a catalyst for his career in art. Lou served four years in the Air Force during the Korean War era. He received his B.S. and M.S. from the New York State University at Buffalo on the GI Bill. Lou taught at Starpoint Central in western New York for seven years before coming to Madison where he retired after 30 years. While art has been the main focal point of his career Lou coached track and cross-country for over 40 years. He worked part time at Hanover College as an assistant coach, a communications assistant and taught an occasional art class. Lou says, “life has been exciting and I find that the only dull moments are the ones you create yourself.”

Along with two other local businessmen and several teachers, Lou Knoble was instrumental in organizing the art fair that became known as the Madison Chautauqua. Intending to bring shoppers into downtown Madison, businesses hosted an artist in front of their stores for the weekend. An idea was born and evolved into a fine art and craft festival that brings approximately 70,000 visitors to Madison on the last weekend in September.

 

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