Month: July 2022

July 28, 2022

Aaron Lurth, assistant professor of art at Luther College, will have two photographs added to the permanent collection at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. The photos are part of his series titled “My Paper Tiger: Carl” in which Lurth depicts what it can feel like to live with anxiety.

“In therapy, we often talk about the internal voice in our heads, a voice that tends to be negative. It’s common in therapy to suggest that you name that voice and long ago, I named mine Carl. Carl is the guy constantly whispering all of the what ifs’ into my ears,” said Lurth. “And when talking about anxiety, it is often likened to a ‘paper tiger.’ A paper tiger is a term used for something that appears dangerous and frightening from the outside, but when challenged or inspected further, it proves to be ineffectual.”

Lurth drew inspiration for this series from a number of artists, specifically Gregory Crewdson and Charlie White. The photos feature a person in a ghillie suit, a type of camouflage clothing used by soldiers and hunters to blend in with their environment, participating in everyday life. When not used for its intended purposes, the ghillie suit appears very unusual.

“With this series, my hope is that the humor and slight absurdity draw people in and hopefully the more you look at it, the more you start to see that this ‘thing’ in the photographs is painfully out of place, yet no one seems to notice. I hope that you will start to feel a connection with moments in your life when you have felt out of place, anxious or uneasy, and start to recognize that none of us can truly tell how people are feeling internally at any given moment. I hope these images create a space for the viewers to potentially open up and talk about their struggles with mental health, and perhaps create space for empathy towards one another through shared experiences. But if all you do is laugh, I’ll be okay with that too,” said Lurth.

The series of photos was recently featured in an exhibit at the Figge Art Museum. When the time came to pick up his pieces, Lurth received a call from the Director of Collections and Exhibitions informing him that they were enjoying the photos so much that they would like to add two to their permanent collection. The final decision was up to the Figge Art Museum acquisition board which recently voted unanimously to approve the acquisition.

“It’s an incredible honor. The Figge is a beautiful museum with a really impressive collection. Most artists never get the opportunity to be a part of a museum’s collection of work and the fact that I have the opportunity to hang on the same walls as the artists I teach about in my classroom, including Rembrandt, Picasso and Warhol, it’s just incredibly exciting and humbling,” said Lurth.

The project was a student-faculty collaboration between Lurth and Madilyn Heinke ’20. Heinke served as the project manager and organized the shoots in order to bring Lurth’s vision to life. She is also likely the person you see behind the ghillie suit playing the role of Carl.

The photos will be on display and available to view at the Figge Art Museum later this year.

About Luther College

Luther College is home to about 1,800 undergraduates who explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities and society. Our academic programs, experiential approach to learning and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.

Aaron Lurth, assistant professor of art at Luther College, will have two photographs added to the permanent collection at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. The photos are part of his series titled “My Paper Tiger: Carl” in which Lurth depicts what it can feel like to live with anxiety.

            “In therapy, we often talk about the internal ‘voice in our heads,’ a voice that tends to be negative. It’s common in therapy to suggest that you name that voice and long ago, I named mine Carl. Carl is the guy constantly whispering all of the ‘what ifs’ into my ears,” said Lurth. “And when talking about anxiety, it is often likened to a ‘paper tiger.’ A paper tiger is a term used for something that appears dangerous and frightening from the outside, but when challenged or inspected further, it proves to be ineffectual.”

Lurth drew inspiration for this series from a number of artists, specifically Gregory Crewdson and Charlie White. The photos feature a person in a ghillie suit, a type of camouflage clothing used by soldiers and hunters to blend in with their environment, participating in everyday life. When not used for its intended purposes, the ghillie suit appears very unusual.

“With this series, my hope is that the humor and slight absurdity draw people in and hopefully the more you look at it, the more you start to see that this ‘thing’ in the photographs is painfully out of place, yet no one seems to notice. I hope that you will start to feel a connection with moments in your life when you have felt out of place, anxious or uneasy, and start to recognize that none of us can truly tell how people are feeling internally at any given moment. I hope these images create a space for the viewers to potentially open up and talk about their struggles with mental health, and perhaps create space for empathy towards one another through shared experiences. But if all you do is laugh, I’ll be okay with that too,” said Lurth.

The series of photos was recently featured in an exhibit at the Figge Art Museum. When the time came to pick up his pieces, Lurth received a call from the Director of Collections and Exhibitions informing him that they were enjoying the photos so much that they would like to add two to their permanent collection. The final decision was up to the Figge Art Museum acquisition board which recently voted unanimously to approve the acquisition.

“It’s an incredible honor. The Figge is a beautiful museum with a really impressive collection. Most artists never get the opportunity to be a part of a museum’s collection of work and the fact that I have the opportunity to hang on the same walls as the artists I teach about in my classroom, including Rembrandt, Picasso and Warhol, it’s just incredibly exciting and humbling,” said Lurth.

The project was a student-faculty collaboration between Lurth and Madilyn Heinke ’20. Heinke served as the project manager and organized the shoots in order to bring Lurth’s vision to life. She is also likely the person you see behind the ghillie suit playing the role of Carl.

The photos will be on display and available to view at the Figge Art Museum later this year.

About Luther College

Luther College is home to about 1,800 undergraduates who explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities and society. Our academic programs, experiential approach to learning and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.

Luther College student Ratanak Uddam ’23 is working to bring business to Rochester, Minnesota.

Uddam is a data analyst intern for Destination Medical Center, a Rochester economic development initiative that aims to make the city a global destination for health and wellness. Uddam is working to find companies interested in moving or expanding into Rochester to assist in the city’s growth and decrease anticipated job shortages in the coming years.

“My work with Destination Medical Center stimulates me because it allows me to visualize data essential to Rochester’s growth,” said Uddam. “Knowing what companies might be interested in expanding their operations into Rochester is valuable information that could be used to secure long-term investments in the city.”

As part of this project, Uddam analyzed past company outreach campaign data and desirable company profiles to build a process that screens for new companies that would make great additions to Rochester.

“Through past campaigns and collaboration with Mayo Clinic, the team has established profiles of companies that would be a good fit for Rochester. When scouting for companies using our tools, I use those profiles as a filtering layer. Then, I build a process using Natural Language Processing to further analyze its descriptions, industries, and so on. This step takes keywords that are indicative of a successful campaign to recommend other companies that are in the same field and scope of interest,” said Uddam.

While Uddam gained invaluable experience in analyzing data to help further the growth of the city, this internship also clarified his interest in the data science field for his future career.

“This opportunity has certainly opened me up to all the different applications of data science that I never would have thought possible. It further strengthened my interest in this field. I am interested in extending this work to different industries as I plan for my career after college,” said Uddam.

Uddam completed this internship as part of Luther’s Rochester Semester program which provides students of all majors an opportunity to study and work in Rochester. With the college’s extensive alumni pool in the city, students have access to extraordinary learning opportunities catered to their interests and passions. The experience will help students discern career paths, acquire job-related experience, and facilitate career networking. Rochester Semester participants also have the opportunity to enroll in two Rochester-based courses taught by Luther College faculty.

About Destination Medical Center

Destination Medical Center and healthcare giant Mayo Clinic have aligned goals of making Rochester a hub for health care innovations and an epicenter for developers to design inclusive spaces. By attracting companies and businesses to Rochester, Destination Medical Center plans to increase and diversify its investments in Rochester. While Mayo Clinic will remain a major asset and attraction, Destination Medical Center hopes to double its efforts to ensure Rochester is a global destination for health, wellness and so much more.

About Luther College

Luther College is home to about 1,800 undergraduates who explore big questions and take action to benefit people, communities, and society. Our academic programs, experiential approach to learning, and welcoming community inspire students to learn actively, live purposefully, and lead courageously for a lifetime of impact. Learn more at luther.edu.