Artist Spotlight: Mo Liptak

Lauren Durham
Contributing Writer

Originally posted on March 28th. 

Art, in any form, tells a story. Whether it be an abstract painting, a scenic photograph or a modern sculpture, there is an underlying narrative. For graphic design major Mo Liptak, books stand as the primary inspiration for her artwork and taught her this important concept.

From a young age, books opened Liptak’s mind to the endless possibilities that human beings have available to them.

“Getting into the heads of characters, seeing how they are human and how they interact with one another, kind of taught me how beautiful we are as a species… The reason I love art so much is because it really celebrates, on all levels, being a human being.”

While her imagination was born through reading, Liptak’s love for art was cultivated by her education at Centerville High School, located in the Dayton area. University of Dayton, of course, has expanded her artistic mindset even further.

She created one of her favorites pieces in Painting I last semester. The self portrait, painted in only black and white, didn’t go quite as planned. A mistake ended up turning into a unique, distorted final product.

“I was pretty far along the piece when I realized that I painted the eyes too far up, so I decided to go for a risk: distorting the eyes and letting them drip out… Without taking risk, I don’t feel like I could grow.”

As shown in this painting and others, Liptak loves mixing different mediums to add depth to the narrative she is trying to convey. By layering paints, charcoal and other materials, viewers are able to latch on to the explorative process that went into creating the piece.

Currently, Liptak is taking Book Arts, a class that combines her two loves into one curriculum. She hopes to either become an art professor or a book designer in the future. Regardless of what path she takes, Liptak is enthusiastic about sharing her experimental style and passion for storytelling with the masses.

“We all experience a lot of sadness and a lot of happiness, and I think each needs to be equally celebrated. In a way, it’s a method of the acceptance of life.”

Photos courtesy of Mo Liptak.