Lytle, the son of Kevin and Kathy Lytle, of Cadillac, graduated from Grand Valley in May, 2005, with a BFA degree with an emphasis in illustration. He currently resides and works in Grand Rapids. His piece is titled The Besprizornye, which means "abandoned children" in Russian. The 14-inch by 40-inch piece depicts a montage of despairing children with vacant eyes. His work is composed of digitally manipulated images from oil paintings, intaglio prints, copper plates and scanned sketches.
"It is one of 11 in a series I did based on a story by a good friend who majored in Russian Studies," said Lytle. "The series and the story are about the hoards Russian children who were orphaned in the 1950s during mass political arrests. Some of the children are shown wearing discarded gas masks they've found. It gives the piece a post-nuclear fallout feel."
Lytle did the series for his senior thesis. The Besprizornye was purchased by Grand Valley State University for display on campus, that is, after it returns from Lansing. The university's director of galleries and collections, Henry Matthews, said he submitted Lytle's piece for the Arts in the Legislature project because its powerful image stood out from other pieces under consideration.
The Arts in the Legislature initiative is a partnership between the universities' Presidents Council and the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives to promote art in every day life. Each piece of student artwork was framed with a special nameplate acknowledging the artist, compliments of the House and Senate. Each student also received a certificate of appreciation from Senator Majority Leader Ken Sikkema and House Speaker Craig DeRoche. The artwork will be replaced each year with new student art from the Michigan 15.
For more information about Arts in the Legislature contact the House of Representatives' Business office at (517) 373-6339. Photo of artwork is available --contact Mary Isca Pirkola at (616) 331-2228 or [email protected]
