Team Tolstoy
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, Laura “Lola” Baltzell ’83 and Christiane Carney Johnson ’83 will discuss the collaborative process they used to create the War and Peace Project exhibited through Dec. 7 in Burling Gallery. Their gallery talk is free and open to the public, and will start at 4:15 p.m. in Burling Library Lounge.
During their talk, Baltzell and Johnson will describe the collaborative fusion of literature and art that led to the creation of collages that cover all 747 pages of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel. Each 5 x 7 inch collage incorporates one page from the Russian text, combined with bits of maps, dried flowers, ink, wax, graphite, thread, letters, and other printed material.
Baltzell, who majored in Russian and economics, and Johnson, who majored in Russian and political science, developed the project with a group of artists who dubbed themselves Team Tolstoy. They both were inspired by their experiences in the late Professor John Mohan’s renowned course about the Russian writer.
The team included four additional Grinnell alumni — Otto Mayr ’82, Lucy Zahner Montgomery ’83, Elizabeth Jorganson Sherman ’83, and Lynn Waskelis ’83. Artists Emma Rhodes and Adrienne Wetmore also served on the team.
In addition to giving the gallery talk on Wednesday, Baltzell and Johnson will help Grinnell students create their own collages during a study break from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts.
While on campus, Baltzell and Johnson will work with students enrolled in a tutorial on War and Peace taught by Associate Professor of Russian Kelly Herold, visit Russian language and literature classes, and attend a reception hosted by Professor of Russian Todd Armstrong.
The Faulconer Gallery brought the War and Peace Project to Grinnell’s campus in cooperation with the Russian Department and the Center for the Humanities. The project has been shown in Boston, New York and Russia. The Grinnell exhibit is the first in which the project has been exhibited in its entirety in the United States.