Love for Kansas: Mary R. Gage and the See Kansas Project

The United States is filled with iconic landscapes and memorable landmarks, and many of them were depicted in the stylized prints by WPA artists in the late 1930s. The colors and forms of those destinations were firmly imprinted in the minds and memories of our culture, in no small part because of these striking posters. Mary R. Gage recognized that Kansas has iconic views, too, and hatched a plan to honor them.

"Elk River Trail," by Mary R. Gage

"I was a longtime writer for magazines here and did a lot of wandering out in the state of Kansas for different stories, and I fell in love with Kansas like I never did before," says Gage. "I started to wonder why we didn't have postcards and posters of the beautiful views. We have some amazing landscapes and beautiful places."

Gage started the program in 2020 with one of her editors, Nathan Pettingill. It began with Lawrence artists depicting parks and greenspaces in that college town. "We started with 11 posters, and it was just a lot of fun, so we kept doing it," she recalls. "We started doing the same thing in other cities, and then we went on to the whole state of Kansas." For the series focusing on Topeka, they used all Topeka artists. For the overall state, they tapped artists from Wichita, Manhattan, Johnson County, and the like, "to get different perspectives from people, and what they were passionate about. I would suggest places, but if artists had any places that they loved or were special to them, I encouraged that," Gage says. "I think it enhances the art if they feel some connection to the place."

"Monument Rocks," by Mary R. Gage

More than 40 of these posters will be on view at the Clubhouse at Meadowbrook Park and on the walls of the Prairie Village Municipal Building, on Mission Road, from July 15 through September 16, courtesy of the Prairie Village Arts Council.

When the Works Progress Administration (WPA) started the Federal Art Program that originally commissioned posters for the National Parks, the nation was in the depths of the Great Depression. Those were difficult times--which are echoed in the birth of this new venture that began in Lawrence. When this next generation of graphic images were ready to show, the United States was in the throes of the COVID pandemic in June 2020. Gage and Pettingill had to display the posters inside the Lawrence public library, with the art visible through the building's large windows so visitors could see them from outside. "We still had our viewing, but it was different from what we planned," Gage deadpanned.

But a funny thing happened amid this story: Gage fell in love with printmaking.

"Castle Rock," by Stephanie Lane Gage

Before she helped start the poster series, Gage was raising kids and writing magazine articles. When she took her youngest child to visit colleges, she was exposed to printmaking and its formidable and intriguing equipment. "I suppose I was always interested in art, but I didn't pursue it because I didn't find a good fit," says Gage. "That changed when I went with her to visit schools--she went off to college and I started taking classes at the Lawrence Arts Center." Gage learned printmaking and she met many artists who were ideal for the poster project. Now, her daughter helps with the digital design of the posters and contributes her art to the series as well.

The artists participating in the See Kansas program approach printmaking in a variety of ways, but Gage was pulled in by the screen-printing angle, and she was aided by how digital art can take a "handmade" start and carry it to a refined conclusion. "The thing about printmaking for me, that helped me think that I could be an artist, is that I like the technical part of it--the hand tools, the mixing of the ink, the pulling of the screen," says Gage. "I think those actions are fun, somehow. They give me a kick, a thrill, more so than drawing with pencil and painting with paint. It's like opening a gift--lifting a print off the press and seeing how it worked. I wasn't expecting it to be so fun. The practice and craft it takes makes it challenging and fun. It was a surprise to me to discover this. I have really enjoyed learning something new that is so fun for me."

It helps that she has long been intrigued by the history and geology of a landscape. "I've always loved to look at the land and trace how it all works together, how people influence the landscape and the landscape influences people," Gage says. "It started with me as a kid reading National Geographic--I've had a subscription since I was 16. I think it is important to understand the history of the land, to think about the herds of bison, the wetlands and birds, the rich tapestry of what we see. To look at the chalk history left from an ancient ocean, to the prehistoric animals--such a deep timeline. It's fascinating for me to think about. I look at Castle Rock [in Gove County, Kansas] and feel like it is sort of time machine."

"Burcham Park," by Mary R. Gage

If you like the sensibilities expressed by these posters and by Gage, support the program by buying a poster or a postcard of one of the art pieces. As a non-profit, the organization behind the posters funnels the profits right back into the program, funding the artists' commissions and paying for the printing of more materials. Come to the opening on July 15, or visit another time while the show is still up, and see Kansas pride. For more information on the See Kansas project, visit the website here.