Kim AbeleS Barbara Berk Don Bernier

Robin Brewer Sigrid Erica Casey

R. Clarke-Davis Billy X. Curmano

Cheri Gaulke Peter Goin

Tod A. Havel Scott Hirschberg

Stacey Jones Sant Subagh K. Khalsa

Robert Lawrence Lori Mac

Richard Olderman Edward Pardee Michael Schell

Judith Selby

artists consider the

EN VIR ONMENT

- -

Kim Abeles Barbara Berk

Don Bernier Robin Brewer

Sigrid Erica Casey R. Clarke-Davis

Billy X. Curmano Cheri Gaulke

Peter Gain Tad A. Havel

Scott Hirschberg Stacey Jones

Sant Subagh K. Khalsa Robert Lawrence

Lori Mac Richard alderman

Edward Pardee Michael Schell

Judith Selby

artists consider the

ENVIRONMENT

November 6 through December 11, 1993 Organized by The FORUM Gallery at Jamestown Community College

This exhibition is funded in part by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation

Environmental Considerations Dan R. Talley

During the post 200 yea rs, the world has increa sing ly real ized that we can­not co ntinue to use na tural re sou rces and indiscriminatel y di spose of the by­products of manu facturing and produc­tion w ithout consequence The birth of thiS aw areness, early in the post-Indus­trial Revolution , wos nurtured by on unlikely alliance o f politician s, econo­mists , scientists, poets, and pointers . Their concern come about primarily as a reaction to unprecedented bursts of manufacturing expansion and the in­creased annexation uf what come to be seen as a rapidly dwindling resource bose.

Many well educated people in the United State" and in Europe come to realize that this unbridled pace of devel­opment could not go unchecked without significant negative impact on their lives and the lives of generations to come. These initial concerns about the deple· tion of natural resources and the expo­nential growth of the world's population gradually grew into a more general campaign that took on the issues of human-generated pollutants and the pres·· ervation of unspoiled land areas.

Prominent 18th century English econo­mist, Robert Malthus, in his 1798 trea­tise An Essay of the Principle of Popula­tion as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society, expressed his belief that global population growth would eventu­ally surpass the earth ' s ability to pro­duce adequate food supplies . Malthus believed that disease, wars, and de­creased birthrotes were the world ' s only salvation I A half-century ofter Malthus's

essay w as published, another English economist , Stuart Mill, proposed a dif­ferent view in his Principles of Politico I Econo my. Mill basically believed that humanity could cope with population growth and that such growth spurred on the development of better techniques for managing existing resources. Mill fur­ther believed that growth would spur the quest for additional resource develop­ment, but he cautioned that such prac­tices might eventually rob humanity of the possibility of solitude and that the world ' s natural beauty could be in even­tual leopardy if this path were followed.

In the mid- and late-18th century the writings of two Americans, Henry David Thoreau and George Perkins Marsh, laid a foundation for the birth of the conservation movement. Thoreau's phi­losophy that placed nature above mate­rialism was succinctly stated in Walden, his 1854 book that urged civilization to "Simplify simplify "2 Marsh's 1864 book, Man and Nature, brought the role of conservation to the attention of a much broader public (the book was retitled The Earth as Modified by Human Action in 1874). These seminal works, coupled with continued industrial ex­pansion, startled many Americans into action on behalf of the environment.

The late 19th century sow America move from on essentially frontier society to a powerful industrial notion. Conser­vationists realized that America's natu­ral resources, especially its forestlands, were in grove danger President Teddy Roosevelt, conservationism's best known proponent, developed programs in his

administration to protect rangelands, forests, water and mineral resources. While the administration ' s intentions were on target, their initial programs locked unity and overall cohesion. This led to a call for a coordinated approach to the problem which met with initial resistance in Congress. However, a surge of popular support from middle- and upper-income citizens turned the con­gressional tide and enabled conserva­tion to become on official governmental responsibility.

While some Americans of the time, like Sierra Club's founder John Muir, advocoted resource preservation, most people were more in favor of a consid­ered and careful use of existing re­sources. This moderate slant enabled the movement to sustain the support of business, which, concerned about fu­ture profits, also wanted to insure the continued availability of resources . Eco­nomic considerations like these led to a scientific method to resource manage­ment which in turn led to the implemen­tation of conservation laws and the development of new federal agencies including the Forest Service, the United States Geological Survey, The National Park Service, and the Bureau of Recla­mation.

In the 1920s, changes in presidential administrations and political bickering among individual factions significantly weakened the vigor and enthusiasm of the conservation movement. These changes coupled with the Great Depres­sion and World War II virtually eradi­cated the nation's concern for the envi­

ronment. Apathy continued into the early 1960s until the publication of Rachel Corson's Silent Spring jarred the world into renewed environmental activism . Corson, a former biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, sounded a warning about the dangerous side ef­fects of DDT and other pesticides. Silent Spring not only brought attention to questionable agricultural practices, it also awoke the world to a host of other environmental threats.

Her work and works that followed, including Barry Commoner's Closing Cire/e, 1971 and Limits to Growth, a 1972 work written by a team of re­searchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, inspired a new genera­tion into environmental action. This new movement, centered primarily on Ameri­can college campuses, borrowed orga­nizational and communication tactics from the highly successful peace and civil rights movements. This resurgence, in conjunction with the work of notional organizations including the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society the National Wildlife Federation , and the Audubon Society provided pressure that brought obout changes in lows oddressing on array of environmental concerns . Legis· lotion enacted as a reaction to the work o f this movement included the Notional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 the Clean Water Act o f 1972 , the Notional Fo rest Management Act of 1976, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1977 the Notional Acid Precipitation Act of 1980, and the creation in 1970 of the Environ­mental Protection Agency. Environmen-

J

tal catastrophes of the 19805, includ ing the Exxon Va ldez Oil Spil l, and the Chernobyl incident , coupled with in · creasing concern over ocid rain and global warming , inspired worldwide action such as the formation of the Green party in Germany and the world· wide spread of the green movement .

Environmentali sm is quite active on many fronts with new groups forming

constantly around local , regional , no·

tional , and international issues. Organi· zations like the Worldwatch Institute,

the Environmental Defense Fund, Earth

First t, and Greenpeace all have widely differing strategies and philosophies,

but they are all united in the view that environmental problems are globol prob· lems with far·reaching impact. These groups, and groups like them , have raised awareness oround the world but governmental differences and economic considerations continue to hamper glo­bal resolve on many vital issues. The United Notions ' 1992 Earth Summit on

the Environment was considered by many in the movement to be a sad commen· tory on the lock of global cooperation

a cooperation which will be necessary to solve the myriad difficulties facing the

environment today While the problems

are worldwide and seem at times over­whelming , we are reminded that the

movement is essentially a gross roots one that urges us as individuals to tackle the problem by "thinking globally and acting locally."

.. . Traditionally artists have been at the forefront of efforts to protect the environ· ment. They have long appreciated and reflected on the beauty of the natural world. Generations of ortists have given

testament to the owe that nature inspires

by producing countless landscapes and seascapes , care fully drown studies of exotic flora and fauna , and colorful photographi c sun sets ad·infinitum . For many in our culture , these representa· tions embody the extent of the connec­tion between art and nature. To them, it is all encapsulated in nicely executed vistas or handsomely rendered figures

that refer us to creatures that are known

but rarely seen in our doily existence. Such representations, while fanciful and

genteel, tell us tragically little about the unfortunate state of the environment as

it now exists in a number of locations

worldwide. Perhaps more important, these kinds of representations give us only romanticized views that seem to embody the way we wish we were living in a kind of timeless Eden-like reality where our relationship with the world is one of low impact coexistence. Gone from these views are smoke belch· ing factories, rivers of toxic sludge, and eroded mountainsides that break the image's fragile spell that links us to our

dimly remembered innocence. This kind of work has nostalgic enter­

tainment value but it has little to do with

contemporary reality or with contempo­rory modes of expression. The aesthetic

mindset behind such work embraces pre-Industrial Revolution notions of art. While this attitude is congruous with the romanticized notions of the environ­ment depicted by the work, it is woefully out of touch with the brooder realities of 20th century art and society.

The other representational extreme, documentation that directly confronts the degradation of our planet, has limi­tations also . That approach, likewise, tells us very little about the underlying

structure of our thoughts and attitudes . It only shows us a moment in the process or the final result of our reckless environ· mental actions. While there is on unde· niable shock value in such work, it too leaves us with little to ponder and with few insights into the values expressed through our individual actions.

Somewhere independent of these rather stork diametrical positions, these metaphorical heavens and hells, is art­

work that supplies commentary on the

economic, social, and philosophical un·

derpinnings that contribute to the cur· rent eco-pathalagy This work is eva·

sive. It is less obvious than the previous

categories, but, by virtue of its subtlety, it is much more intellectually engaging

Artists Consider the Environment em· braces this kind of work.

The resulting show is not a "nature show. " It does not attempt to present the visual splendor and wonder of the natu· ral world . The resulting show is not a "shock show" It does not attempt to point out the obvious toll that civilization and progress are taking on the resources

of our planet. Essentially this show is about attitudes: It is on examination of

the collective frame of reference that we

bring to the dependent relationship that we have with our surroundings .

No doubt, representational references

to the environment as described in the

first two categories of work expand our knowledge of how the world looks and feels and such knowledge is impor· tant and necessary but very little of the work in these categories causes us to examine our relationship to the image that we hold of the world. It is quite difficult to loo k at the splendor o f 0

Bierstadt pointing and simultaneo usly think of the degrodation of much o f the

American wilderness caused by con ·

cepts such as " manifest destiny " The beauty of the image tends to sedate and break our relationship with our more critical social/political impulses. Much of the work included in this show looks speCifically at this link between images and assumptions and requires that we examine our own port in the current condition of our planet.

Sadly here at the end of the 20th

century many of us still have vorying degrees of disregard for the unalterable

truth that we are dependent upon the environment for our existence. We con·

tinue to drive cars, purchase products,

toke vocations, eat agriculturally ineffi· cient foods, and basically make inces­

sant demands on the networks of pro· duction and distribution that exact such high tolls on our planet. Many of us try to be mindful of our actions and attempt to strike a balance in our lives, but we must admit that even with the best o f intentions it is impossible to partake of life in late 20th century society without inflicting a certain degree of environ·

mental damage The nineteen artists included in this exhibition have all, to

varying degrees, reflected on this di· lemma .

Notes: 1 Simi lar ideas have been expressed more reo

cently (19681 in Paul Ehrlich ' s crit ically ac· claimed The Populotion Bomb.

2. This theme is similarly stoted In the Quaker slogan adopted recently by enVironmental"ts, "live simpty tha t o thers may simply live ."

Sources: Confes5ions o f on feo·Warrior , Dove Foreman ,

Harmony Books, New York , NY 199 1

Grafler's Academic Ame(Jcon, onlin e ed ition, Grol,er ElectroniC Publishing, 1993.

Kim Abeles The London Globe printed a new word, "Smog," coined in a speech at the 1905 Public Health Congress. They considered it a public service to de­scribe this phenomenon. Eighty-six years later we possess, yet avoid using, the technology to correct 95% of the pollu­tion legacy.

The Smog Collectors materialize the reality of the air we breathe. They achieve their potency most effectively when the image contradicts their sub­stance. Thus, my process is a private retaliation brought to public attention.

I place stencil images on transparent materials , then leave these on the roof of my studio and let the particulate matter in the heavy air fall upon them. When the stencil is removed, the im­ages reveal themselves . To quote a stranger, they are " footprints of the sky." Since the worst in our air can't be seen, Smog Collectors are both literal and metaphoric depictions of the cur­rent conditions of our life source. They are reminders of our industrial deci­sions: the road we took that seemed so modern.

Selected Exhibitions: Kim Abeles: A Fifteen Year Survey, Santa Manica

Museum of Art, Santa Monico, CA, 1993. Solo exhibition, Turner/Krull Gallery, los Angeles,

CA, 1993. Solo exhibition, laurence Miller Gallery, New

York, NY 1992. Solo exhibition, Tu rner/Krull Gallery, los Angeles,

CA,1991 Solo exhibition, laguna Art Museum Satellite Gal­

lery, Costa Mesa, CA, 1991

Los Angeles, California

On·Site Smog Col/ector Sculpture, California Mu· seum of Science and Industry, travelling exhibi· tian, 199 1

Solo exhibition, Atlanta Pavilion , Atlanta Arts Fes· tival, Atlanta , GA, 1990.

Reviews, Pubtications, and Catalogs: "Art and Advocacy," by Collene Chonapadhyay,

Artweek, December 3, 1992. "More Dirt on Bush," by Charis Conn, Harper 's,

October 1992. "Co-Elaborations," by Judith Christensen, Visions ,

Fall 1992 . "Kim Abeles," by Meg Fuj imaru , Crescendo, Octo·

ber 1992. "Pollution as Art," by Harrison Fletcher, The Regis­

ter, September 21 1992. " Dirty Pictures," by Mark lamana, Westways,

September 1992. "K im Abeles," edited by William Bartman, Art

Press Publica tion, 1988 .

Education: M.FA, University of California, Irvine, CA, 1980. B.FA, Ohio University, 1974.

Exhibition Checklist: Presidential Commemorative Smog Plate (Bush) ,

1992, smog matter on porcelain, 12 inches diameter Courtesy of Turner/Kru ll Gallery, los Angeles, CA.

Presidential Commemorative Smog Plote (Reagan) , 1992, smog matter on porcelain, 12 inches diameter Courtesy of Turner/Krull Gallery, las Angeles, CA.

Presidential Commemorative Smog Plate (Corter) , 1992, smog maner on porcelain, 12 inches diameter Courtesy of Turner/Krull Gallery, los Angeles, CA.

Presidential Commemorative Smog Plate (Ford) , 1992, smog matter an porcelain, 1 2 inches diameter Courtesy of Turner/ Krull Gallery, los Angeles , CA.

Presidential Commemorative Smog Plate (Nixon) , 1992, smog matter on porcelain, 12 inches diameter Courtesy of Turner/Krull Gollery, los

Angeles, CA.

Kim Abeles, Presidenlial

Commemorative Smag Plate IReag a n),

1992, smog matter on porcelain , 12 inches diameter.

Courtesy 01 Turner / Krull Gal lery, las

Angeles, CA

4

Barbara Berk Laguna Beach, California

Barbaro Berk. Field, 1992, mixed mediums, 7 x 12 x 2 inches.

Field and 'Sticks and Stones , and Letters are part of a series investigating the tangible world of nature in contrast to the intangible world of symbols and ideas.

Fieldexplores the idea of foreground and background and how each could change places, depending on where one puts one's aHention. Thi s work focuses on the manipulation of nature through words. Our culture makes na­ture the background so that we experi­ence it through the filter of the ideas and words we have about it. In Field this order is reversed; it is the words that are in the background. My intention is to focus on the idea of the book as a field, an event in itself, not merely a place where events occur

'Sticks and Stones 'and Letters uses leHers as physical, three-dimen­sional objects that can be rearranged in any configuration to make any number of words, sentences, and ideas in many languages. By making the units of lan­guage into tangible objects, and juxta­posing them with natural materials, I am attempting to link the intangible world of ideas with the tangible world of the senses, both with parallel potential to elicit multiple meanings.

Selected Exhibitions: Natural Dialogue, California Crofts Museum, San

Francisco, CA. 1993 , Deceptive Cadences, Galdenwest College, Hun·

tingtan Beach, Co, 1991 Manipulated Environments , lang Beach City Col­

lege, long Beach, CA, 1990. Disconnected Choices, Mount 51. Mary's College,

Los Angeles, Co, 1990. Barbara Berk : Recent Work , Arizona State Univer­

sity, Tempe, AZ, 1989. Outside New York, AIR Ga"ery, New York , NY

1988.

Reviews, Publicotions, and Catalogs: "Museums, Ga"eries Don ' t Just Hang Art; They

Insta" It," by Cathy Curtis, las Angeles Times, los Angeles, CA, October 28, 199 1

"Contributing to Solu ti on Through Art," by Dina Berland, Press Telegram, long Beach, CA. Sep­tember 23, 1990 ,

"Outside New York," by Eli se la Rose, Women Artists News, Winter 1988/89,

Education: M .F.A., Prall Institute, New York, NY

Exhibition Checklist: Field, 1992, mixed mediums, 7 x 12 x 2 inches . 'Sticks and Stones 'ond teNers, 1992, mixed

mediums, 12 x 25 x 2 inches.

Don Bernier BuHalo, New York

Using a tax idermy spec imen to repre­sent western concepts of ownership and control of non-human landscapes (which w e have labeled "nature" or " the environment"), Trophy questions the traditiona l, mechanical , patriarchal viewpoints that human beings have hi s­to rically constructed around th e natural w orld . Each o f th e e ight spec i men-si zed panoramas depict a spec ifi c region in N o rth Am erica whi ch has been " re­served o r protected " by the U. S. and Canadian govern ments.

Setected Exhibitions: Two Nights in T3R9 - Township 9 Ronge 3 West of

the Eosterly Line of the Stote, Buffo lo Coble Access Media, Buffalo, NY, June-August 1993 .

Periscope I, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, Buffalo, NY May 1993 .

Video Refuses Festival 1993, The Video Menu at limbo, San Franc isco, CA, April 1993.

muti/otion under the sun, Buffalo Coble Access M edia, Buffa lo, NY January 1993 .

Medio Montoge, State Univers ity of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, N Y November 1992 .

Education: M A H., State University of New York ot Buffolo,

present . B.FA , Konsos City Art Institute, 1992. Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 199 1

Exhibition Checklist: Troph y, color photographs, specimen pins, th read,

' 992 , 96 x 68 x 2 inches .

Don Bernier, Trophy, color photographs,

specimen pins, thread, 1992, 96 x 68 x 2

inches.

Robin Brev#er Indianapolis, Indiana

Robin Brewer, Recovered Landscapes: Trampoline, 1992, mixed mediums, 36 x 48 x 3 inches .

Recovered Landscapes is my interpreta­tion of contemporary landscape. For me, it is not enough to document nature through traditional means of photogra­phy. I also feel the need to include remnants of humans; found objects, to add dimension and address the viewer on a more personal level. These found objects represent the imbalance and impact of humans on the environment. By including human influence in the landscape, I hope to increase aware­ness of the struggle between the two forces: humans and the environment.

Selected Exhibitions: Recovered Landscapes, University of Hawaii Com­

mons Gallery, Honolulu, HI, 1993. Image XVIII, AMFAC Exhibi ti on Room, Honolulu,

HI , 1992.

Education: BFA, University of Hawaii Manoa, 1993.

Exhibition Checklist: Recavered Landscapes: Frame, 1992, mixed me­

diums, 48 x 60 x 2 inches . Recovered Landscapes: Negative Carriers , 1992,

mixed mediums, 24 x 14 x 1 1/2 inches. Recovered Landscapes: Trampoline, 1992, mixed

mediums, 36 x 48 x 3 inches.

7

Sigrid Erica Casey ScoHsville, New York

When I was about six, an area of shrubs and grasses I walked through on my way to school was undergoing transmogrification. The impending loss of that lovely, unkempt place from my daily life so distressed me that I deter­mined to save some small part of it from destruction . Taking shovel and wagon, I struggled to dig up a fragrant, four­petaled shrub and bring it home to our yard . It still grows where I planted it, some forty years later Recalling this story of the mock-orange, I realize that land development and habitat preser­vation were issues important to me even as a child.

The work on exhibition here, part of a group called Vestigial Remains, arises from my joy in dwelling in the natural world. My first memories are the golden shoreside summers of my childhood, where the rhythm and revelation of the tides formed the structure of my days. Around the same time, I learned a song which I understood, though the words remained mysterious, " and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres." Where I live now, the fields, woods ands streams are my restorative: as ever, it's the meditation of moving, observing, connecting that has value for me.

My work develops from the reso­nance of objects in transcendent dis­play, where physical, conceptual and spiritual signifiers are melded to evoke

Sigrid Erica Casey, essential definition. In Terrene Groves, Detail of Terrene Groves,

1991 / 1992, etched glass, the sensuality of the physical object veneer, six components each 23 conflates with the illusion of rational x 18 x 9 inches.

8

scientific display and devotional reliquarian preservation to illuminate a meditation: what is a forest? What realm of comprehension can be con­structed from isolated fragments, de­prived of context and reduced to indus­trial-scientific construct?

With the fragility of the global eco­system becoming increasingly evident, the alienation of contemporary urban life from the natural world greatly alarms me. How can we be truly concerned about life from which we are estranged? It is clear we are the species with the power to choose how we interact with our environment; it would behoove us to practice cultural traditions with respect for the subtle balances preserving the world, before that balance goes irreme­diably awry But pessimistically, I ex­pect our folly will be one day to finally desolate earth, only to hasten onward to the skies. Terrene Groves serves as the prophetic elegy of a portion of such a loss.

Setected Exhibitions: lIIuslra/ive Maleria/s, University of Nevada, Rena,

NV 1993. Ups/ale Invi/a/ionol, Pyramid Center, Rachester,

NY 1993. Ves/igial Remains, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY

1992. lIIustra/ive Malerials, South Suburban College,

South Holland, Il, 1991 lIIustra/ive Malerials, University of Coloroda, Boul·

der, CO, 1991 New Images: Midallan/ic Slales, James Madison

University, Harrisonburg, VA, 1990.

Publication: "An Interview with Sigrid Erica Casey," by Kathleen

Campbell , CEPA Quarlerly, CEPA Gallery, Buffalo, NY Spring 1992.

Education: M.FA , School of the Art Institute of Chicago,

Chicago, ll, 1985.

Exhibition Checklist: Terrene Groves, 199 1/ 1992, etched gloss, ve­

neer, six components each 23 x 18 x 9 inches.

R. Clarke-Davis Salem, Wisconsin

R, Clarke-Dovis, Feste;ando lema nja Series (Dog and Tyre), 1991, si lver gelatin print , 20 x 24 inches .

The artist chose not to supp ly a statement.

Selected Exhibitions: Camera Oscura, Hungarian Museum of Photogra­

phy, Kecskemet, Hungary, 1993. Invented Landscape, Milwaukee Art Museum, Mil­

waukee, W I, 1992 . N o High Tech, Worcester Art ist Group, Worces­

ter, MA, 1990. The Prairie, The Lake and The City, Evanston Art

Cen tre, Evonslon, Il, 1990_ 14 Artists, Goldsmi th Gallery, l ondon, England,

1983. Open Landscape, Impressions Gallery, York , En­

gland, 1982 .

Reviews, Publications, Catalogs: Camera Oscura, Hungarian Photography Museum,

Kecskemet, Hungary, 1993_ Pinhole 10urnol, Volume 7 number I, 1991 New Photographic/86, Central Washington Uni­

versity, Ellen sburg, WA, 1986_

Education: MA, University of landon, Goldsmiths' College

School of Art and Design, london, England , 1982 .

BA, Beloit College, Beloit, W I, 1975.

Exhibition Checklist: Sites (Ice Chest), 1993, si lver gelatin print, 20 x 24

inches. Sites (Old Style), 1993, si lver gelatin print, 20 x 24

inches . Festejando lemanja Series (Dog and Tyre), 199 1

si lver gelati n print, 20 x 24 inches. Festejando lemania (Dog), 1990, silver gelatin

print, 20 x 24 in ches. Festeiando lemania Series (Fish), 1988, silver

gelatin print, 20 x 24 inches.

Q

Billy X. Curmano ArtWorks USA

Artists paint fantasies; I've tried to live mine. Swimmin ' the River is both perfor­mance and legend in the making. A leisurely 2,552 mile swim from the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Not as an athletic event, but as a multilevel performance, exploring the intermix of art and life, arte-vita , while expressing an ecological imperative.

The swim spans over 1300 miles from the drought of '87 to the legendary flood of '93. It may be viewed as the repetition of a single form (my body) recurring within the landscape. Swim strokes mimic brush strokes, leaving im­permanent trails that almost impercepti­bly alter the river's flow

Like a lover, the river embraces me and I serve as her "Ambassador for Clean Water" The swimmin' metaphor reflects a midwestern sensibility and expresses an aHempt to reclaim the "Father of Waters" from industry and pollution by seeking a balance among wildlife, people, profit and planet.

Fourth of July Freedom and such Yankee Doodle and all that stuff. Let me say impliCitly, "Without freedom from Toxicity, We ain't got much!"

Reprinted w ith slight modifications from The Drought cata­log, M inneapolis Ar ' In sti tu te, 1988 and Ar' Journal, Summer 1992,5 1:2, College Ar' Association, New York, NY

Seleded Exhibitions: International Miniprint Exhibition, Municipal Mu­

seum City of Ourense, Ourense, Spain, 1993 and 1992.

Homeless Hilton: New York , NY Franklin Furnace, New York , NY 1990.

Swimmin " The Drought, Minneapolis Art Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 1988 .

Oppression/Expression, The Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, LA, 1986.

III Vienno Grophikbiennale, Albertina Museum Secession, Vienna, Austria, 1977

Artists' Proposols lor Human Environment, Milwau­kee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 1971

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "Recent Diversity, " by Duane and Sarah Preble,

Artlarms, Horper& Row, New York, NY 1993. "Performance Excerpts," by Billy X. Curmano,

New Observations, New York, NY May/J une 1993.

"Swimmin' the River," by Billy X. Curmana, Art Journal, New York, NY 51 :2, 1992 .

Article by Dominique Mazeud, Break through , Glo­bal Education Associates, New York , 11 :2·4, 1990.

Education: Art Students league of New York, New York, NY

1982 . M.S., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI ,

1977 B.F.A., University of Wisconsin , Milwaukee, WI,

1973.

Exhibition Checklist: Auto Portroit as Auto /can , mixed mediums, 4 x

2 1/ 4 x 2 1/4 inches. Swimmin " Drought to Flood Stage and Beyond,

live performance, November 5, 1993, Jamestown, NY

Swimmin ' the River, videotape, 10 minutes.

Billy X. Curmono, Aula Portroit as Auto Icon mixed mediums, 4 x 2 1/4 x 2 1/ 4 inches.

Photograph of Billy X. (urmano

Swimmin' Ihe River. ""-....:.:;;;..-J~__~___"""''''-'''--________.;;...;.__________.....~

10

Cheri Gaulke Los Angeles, California

L.A. River Pro;ect The videotape, L.A. River Proiect, is part of a larger mixed media installation created in collaboration with four high school students (Susan Barron, Jose Esquivel , Leonard Martinez, and Manuel Ortega) and their teacher (Susan Boyle). The concrete-lined channel known as the Los Angeles River is ignored by many residents, but to these young urban Latinos the river is a wonderland of nature, trash, graffiti, architecture, human interaction and recreation. The

full installation incorporates photo­graphs, water analysis, collected trash, and an architectural drawing of the students' future vision for the river The dramatic centerpiece is a "video river" composed of 12 video monitors facing the ceiling through which the image of rushing water flows. The L.A. River Proiect installation is currently touring U.S. museums in the exhibition Fragile Ecologies: Artists, Interpretations and Solutions ci rculated by the Sm ithsonian.

Pillar of Smoke For generations, some Native Ameri­can tribes have used a sacred pipe to make offerings to the sky above. When a child blows out birthday candles and makes a wish, she hopes her request will rise with the smoke. This videotape asks the question: if wishes and prayers ascend on smoke and if rising smoke is sacred communication, then what are we communicating with smog? Pillar of Smoke was originally created for a Los Angeles exhibition called Smog: A Malter of Life and Breath. A haunting soundtrack by L. A. composer, Vinzula, makes the viewer conscious of their own breathing and heightens the inten­sity of visual juxtapositions a trip down the esophagus reveals pollution-spew­ing smokestacks and crowded freeways within the blood stream. The result is an evocative visual and aural meditation on the spiritual dimensions of smog.

Cheri Gaulke, Still from Pillar 01 Smoke.

11

Selected Exhibitions: Fragile Ecologies; Ar/isls' Interprela/ions and Solu·

lions, Queens Museum of Art, Flushing, NY 1992-1994.

Communi/as: The Femin ist Arl o( Building Commu­nity, Art Galleries, California State University, Northridge, CA, 1992.

Smog : A Maller o( U(e and Brealh, California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA, 1992.

Burning the Bush, solo performance, Highways, Santa Manica, CA, 1992.

Busz Wards Public Art (rom l os Angeles, (EPA, Buffalo, NY 1991

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: Fragile Ecologies: Conlemporory Arlisls' Inlerp re­

la/ions and Solulions, exhibition catalog, Bar­bara C. Matilsky, Rizzoli, 1992 .

Communi/os : The Feminist Arl 01 Community Build­ing, exhibi tion catalog, Belly Ann Brown and Elizabeth Soy, Art Galleries, California State University, Northridge, CA, 1992.

Completing Ihe Circle: Artists' Books on Ihe Envi­ronmenl, exhibition catalog , Betty Bright, Min­nesota Center for Book Arts, 1992 .

"Cheri Gaulke at Highways," by l ouise Steinman, VISIONS Art Quarlerly, LA Artcore, los Ange­les, CA, Volume 6, number 2.

"Gallery of Trash," by Elizabeth Hess, The Village Voice, New York, NY October 6, 1992.

"Bewilched, Bothered , But Not Bewildered," by Doug Sadawnick, The Advocate, November 5, 1991

Education: M.A. , Goddard College, los Angeles, CA, 1978 . M.A. Feminist Studio Workshop at Woman's Build­

ing, las Angeles, CA B.F.A., M inneapolis College of Art and Design,

Minneapolis, MN, 1975 .

Exhibition Checklist: l. A. River Proiect, Videotape in collaboration w ith

Susan Barron, Susan Boyle, Jose Esquivel, leonard Martinez and Manuel Ortega, 12 minutes.

Pillar o( Smoke, videotape, 9 minutes.

Peter Goin The Atomic Energy Commission, shortly ofter World War II, recommended that a 640 square mile " testing ground" be carved out of the 5,400 square mile gunnery range in use by the military in southern Nevada. The testi ng of nuclear weapons was considered essential to national security, and President Truman authorized the opening of the Nevada Test Site on December 18, 1950. The first atmospheric test at the new site was conducted at Frenchman's Flat on Janu­ary 27, 1951 Hanford and White Bluffs, Washington had already been "condemned," paving the way for the construction of facilities manufacturing weapons-grade plutonium .

One hundred and nineteen tests were conducted until a moratorium was es­tablished from 1958 to 1961 Until the United States and the Soviet Union signed a limited test ban treaty on August 5 , 1963, another one hundred and two "devices" were detonated. Since 1963, however, all explosions have been underground.

Just as information about the harmful effects of radiation was scarce, the folklore about everything nuclear ex­ploded. Contemporary dances, drinks, and even the "bikini" owe their name­sakes to the nuclear age. Although many Nevadans remember driving to the roadside along Highway 95 to watch the blasts, the test site itself is strictly OFF LIMITS. Rarely have photog­raphers been allowed to document the visual effects of the nuclear tests, and if

Reno, Nevada

so, their results were considered secret and confidential.

These photographs are the product of a rare opportunity to photograph within the nuclear lands. The artifacts and sites throughout these nuclear lands repre­sent icons in the range of myth and political ritual surrounding the nuclear age . This project contains these main sites: Nevada's Nuclear Test Site, the Trinity Site in New Mexico, the Hanford Nuclear Area in Washington, and re­cently, the Marshall Islands' sites of Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. John Hopkins University Press published Nuclear Land­scapes.

Pet er Goi n, Nuclear Landscapes:

Nevada Tesl 5ile (Sedan Cra/er), /988,

dye coupler print, I I x 14 inc hes.

t2

Setected Exhibitions: Nuclea r Landscapes, Virginia Beach Center for the

Arts, Virginia Beach, VA, 1993. Linea a Puenle: A rl A boullhe Mexican/ US . Bor­

der Experience, Museum of Contemporary Art , Son Diego, CA, 1993.

Phoen ix Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ, 1992. Seattle M useum of History and Industry, Seattle,

W A, 1992. Ba ltimore M useum of A rt , Baltimore, MD, 1991

Publications: Slopping Ti me. A Repholographic Survey o f Lake

Tahoe. Essays by Elizabeth Raymond and Robert E. Blesse, Universi ty of New Mexico Press. 1992.

Arid Walers: Pholographs from the W a ter in W esl Proiect. University of Nevada Press, 1992 .

N uclear landscapes . John s Hopkins University Press, 1991

Tracing the Line. A Ph%graphic Survey o f the Mexican-American Border. Art ist book, 1987

Exhibition Checklist: Nuclear landscapes: Marshall Islands (Abandoned

To wer A nchors), 1990 , dye coupler print, 11 x 14 inches .

Nuclear landscapes: Marshall Islands (Coconut Graveyard), 1990, dye cou pler pri nt, 11 x 14 inches.

Nuclear landscapes: Han ford (Orchard Site),

1989, dye coupler print, 1 1 x 14 inches. Nuclear Landscapes: N evada Tes t Site (Seda n

Crater), 1988, dye coupler prin t, 1 I x 14 inches .

Tod A. Havel Miami, Florida

Tad A Hovel, Slilllram Turlle Dreams. Pholo coulesly 01 Tony Alleg ro

My work is a personal celebration of self in sight and sound. Finding a me­dium I could work well in and the resulting mode of self expression are the reasons for the celebration. Film is my chosen med ium, and at least part of my work is simply an expression of love for the medium ,

Beyond celebrating the pleasure of things visual and acoustic, my work is a quest to understand vi sion. I'm fasci­nated by vision , not only the way we see the world around us but also how we see the world within us. A fascinat­ing form of inner visions are our dreams, Visually minimal , my dreams consist of one or more haunting images repeated in cyclic patterns which incite a terrify­ing feeling o f oppression and at times a prolonged sense of ecstasy My per­sonal dreams are at the center of my work .

M uch of my work reflects the impor­tance of water to life and creation, as well as exploring the experience of being born again in a new phase of life outside of our earthly realms ,

Turtle Dreams is a sea turtle's lament, as baby sea turtles crawl into the surf and swim out to sea, where birds, crabs and fish regard them as an animated sushi bar It is also the Filmmaker's dream in which he tries to approximate the vanishing point of distance beneath the water, where the mysteries of the deep begin the illusion, too subtle for color, of submarine visual infinity

Setected Exhibitions: Moving Imoges, Sawhill Gallery, Harrison burg,

VA, 1993. Night Works, Azida Arts Gal lery, Son Francisco,

CA. 1992 . The Kiddie Comero That Wasn 't, Arti st Television

Access, Son Francisco, CA, 1992. Kill Your Television, The North Miami Cen ter for

Con temporary Art, Miomi, FL, 1992 . The Ann Arbor Film Festivol, Ann Arbor, MI, 199 1 The Sinking Creek Film Festival, Noshville, TN,

1990. High Definition: A Show of Contemporory Video,

The North Miami Center for Contemporory Art , Miami, FL, 1990.

Reviews, Publications and Catalogs: "Video Art," by Helen Koh en, Th e Miami Herald,

Miami, FL, 1990.

Education: B.S., Communications, University of Miami, Cora l

Gables, FL, 1989.

Exhibition Checktist: Turtle Dreams, 1990, film /videotape, 4 3/4 min·

utes .

13

Scott Hirschberg New York, New York

My work is very much about the world we live in, and how we live in it. I work with video, painting, and mixed media projects. With each I wish to communi­cate the essentially sacred nature of life. Often times this is accomplished by depicting the degraded state of the environment by reminding us that our loss of vital connection with nature has enabled us to destroy it, and that ulti­mately we are only destroying our­selves. My art remains hopeful, how­ever, that we will perceive of the need for a shift in our thinking and our rela­tionship with the environment. And we will continue

Selected Exhibitions: Artists Speak Against the War, Art in General,

New York, NY 1990. Four person exhibition, PARTS Gallery, Minneapo­

lis, MN, 1990. Foot in the Door, Minneapolis Institute of Arts,

Minneapolis, MN, 1990. Recycling America, Speedboat Gallery, 51. Paul,

MN, 1989. Recent Paintings, Boliau Memorial Gallery,

Northfield, MN, 1988.

Awards: Art Director of the Year Award, New York Univer­

sity for work on David Kaplan's Little Suck-a­Thumb.

Education: BA, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, 1986.

Exhibition Checklist: Spring Fever in New York, 1993, videotape, 10

minutes.

, .~ •

--• •• ..0 _ _

Scott Hirschberg, Still from Spring Fever in New York.

t4

Stacey Jones New York, New York

S'acey Janes, End 01 th e W orld, Part I,

1992, mixed media, 31 x 43 x

25 inches .

Mine is an art that often reflects a view of the individual as one who does not experience himself as the active agent in his grasp of the world. This piece in particular conveys 0 sense of being overwhelmed and suggests man 's in­ability to control events. His dominion over nature is as tenuous as a line traced in the sond in the face of a rising tide.

Selected Exhibitions: Materials for Gro wth, Arlscape '92 , Baltimore,

MD, 1992 . Confinements, Fine Arls Gallery, University of

Maryland, Baltimore, MD, 1992 . Stacey Jones , Andrea Ruggieri Gallery, Washing·

ton , DC , 1991 Window Installations, TUllle Gallery, McDonagh

School, McDonogh, MD, 1990. Other Rooms, Kunstraum Project, Morgan Annex,

Washington, DC, 1990. Ob;ects D'Art, Hand Workshop, Richmond, VA,

1990.

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "UMBC Art Exhibit Bridges Sculpture and Architec·

ture," by John Dorsey, The Baltimore Sun, Balti· more, MD, April 17 1992 .

"Keeping Up with the Joneses," by Ali ce Thorson, City Paper, Washington , DC, May 24, 1991

"Melancholia," by Lenore Miller, New Art Exam· iner, Washington, DC, March 1991

"Report from Washington: DC Dreaming," by J. W Mahoney, Art in America, N ew York , NY February 1991

'Other Rooms," by Patrick finnigan, Sculpture, Washington, DC, September/ October 1990.

"The Shope of Blackboard Memories," by Paul Richerd, The Washington Po st, Washington , DC, June 2, 1990.

Exhibition Checklist: End of the World, Port I, 1992, mixed media, 31

x 43 x 25 inches.

15

Sant Subagh K. Khalsa San Bernardino, California

Distress Signals is a body of work which combines landscape imagery with vari­ous forms and methods for relaying messages asking for assistance. Thi s includes Morse code, and various signs and symbols. Objects and icons of worship and prayer are also used to send a call to a higher source. The work is my callout to the human race for awareness, consciousness, and respon­sibility towards the environment/ecol­ogy of the planet.

The Sacred Breath is a meditation environment which focuses on the rela­tionship between trees and their gift of oxygen which sustains human life. The mixed media installation includes a lung shaped altarpiece with a photograph of the trunk and branches of a tree . On the altar below sits test tubes filled with materials representing the elements of earth, air, water, and fire. On a smaller wooden altar sits a Prayer Book, resem­bling a Tibetan prayer book, contain­ing photographs of trees with the words " inhale" and "exhale" on each image. All are invited to interact with the work, sit, handle the prayer book, and medi­tate.

Selected Exhibitions: Arid Walers , UMC Fine Arts Gallery, University of

Colorodo, Boulder, CO, 1993. land Revisiled, The Art Works , Riverside, CA,

1993. Smog: A Matter of life and Breath, California

Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA, 1992. The Country Between Us, Huntington Gallery,

Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA, 1992.

Photo Salon, Turner/ Krull Gallery, Los Angeles, CA,1992 .

What Have We Done?, Film in the Cities, Saint Paul, MN, 1991

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "Natural Elements," by Devoroh Knoff, Artweek,

24:4 , Februory 18, 1993 . "Art that Intimates Noture," by Devorah Knoff, The

Press Enterprise, Riverside, CA, January 19, 1993.

"Smog A Motter of Life and Breath," by Judith Spiegel, New Art Examiner, December 1992.

" Issues and Comments, " by Dowson and Manches­ter, Review, San Francisco, CA. September/ October 1992.

"Bracing and Original Landscapes by Women, " by Kelly Wi se, BasIon Globe, March 4, 1992 .

Frame/Work -Southern California Portfolio 1991 Catalog, los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies.

Education: M.F.A., California State University, Fullerton, CA,

1990. M.A., California State University, Fullerton, CA,

1983 . B.F A, Maryland Institute College of Art, Balti ·

more, MD, 1973.

Exhibition Checklist: Distress Signal, 1992, silver gelatin prints, 24 x 24

inches. The Sacred Breath, 1992, mixed mediums, 72 x

36 x 60 inches.

Sant Subagh K. Khalsa, Dislress Signal, si lver gelatin prints, 24 x 24 inches.

16

Robert Lawrence Minneapolis, Minnesota

Robert lawrence, Still from 3 Scripts for Performance.

3 Scripts for Performance is an uncon­ventional meditation on environmental issues. The tape uses a language that was common in "early video" but is virtually unheard today It is minimal and conceptual. My interest is not in the 4 1/2 minute running time of the tape, but rather in the projected "perfor­mances" outside the video display I think of the tape as a "raster sign" pointing to metaphoric activities in "the real world." In that sense the tape is a kind of t.v commercial, or maybe a public service announcement. It is part of an ongoing series of video, sculp­ture, installation and 2D work dealing with our discourses on nature.

Selected Exhibitions: Athens Internationa l Film Video Festival, Athens

Film Center , Athens, OH, 1993. US. Super 8 Film and Video Festivo'- Rutgers Film

Cen ter, Rutgers, NJ, 1993. Film and Video Showcase, Walker Art Center.

Minneapolis, MN, 1992. Tending 10 Code, Pyramid Atlantic, Washington,

DC, 1992 . Planls and Animals, Minneapolis Institute of Art,

Minneapolis, MN, 1991 Video Arl Goes to the Movies, The Kitchen, New

York, NY 1990.

Reviews, Pubtications, and Catalogs: "Plants and Animals," byJ Arginteono, Arts Maga­

zine, Minneapolis, MN, May 1991 "Native Band, " by D. Hellecksan, St. Paul Pioneer

Press, SI. Paul, MN, June 1991 "Critic's Choice," by Mary Abbe, Slar Tribune,

Minneapoli s, MN, May 1991 "Human Nature," by Laurie l ee, Minnesota Doily,

Minneapolis, MN, May 199 1 "Volumes," by A. Fi scher, Arls Magazine, M inne­

apoli s, MN, March 1990.

Educatian: M.FA, University of California, La Jolla, CA,

1987 BA , University of California, Berkeley, CA, 1983.

Exhibition Checklist: 3 Scripts for Performance, 1992, videotape,

4 1/2 minutes.

17

Lori Mac Portland, Oregon

My recent work, Travel N otes , is a diary; a book of photographs and writ­ing from travels in the western United States. I traveled alone to wilderness areas, multi-use areas and National Parks, looking closely at myself, the place and the experience. I am inter­ested in the land and how it is perceived and used. I could use words like extrac­tion or ecology. I want to be honest. I love my tent. I think of words like sponge or microscope or jellyfish . I am inter­ested in small pieces of the big picture; everyday life mixed w ith dirt and sky It is my hope to share personal ideas which I can only find and express through thi s work.

Selected Exhibitions: Travel Notes, White Gallery, Portland, OR, 1993 . Red Light / Green Light, Comerawork Ga tl ery,

Portland , OR, 1992. Open Juried Photographic Exhibition, Long Beach

Art Associa tion, Long Beach, CA, 1991 Open Juried Exhibition, Long Beach Art Associa­

tion , Long Beach, CA, 1990 . Red Light / Green Light, University of Ca liforn ia,

Berkeley extension, Son Francisco, CA, 1990. LACPS Annual Members Exhibition, Los Angeles

Center for Photographic Studies, Los Angeles, CA, 1989.

Current Works 1989, Society for Contemporary Photography, Kansas City, MO, 1989.

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "C learcut," Foundation for Deep Ecology, Son

Francisco, CA, 1993. "Women 's Art," by Randy Grogg, The Oregonian,

Portland, OR, March 19 1993 .

Education: B.S., University of Utah, Sa lt Lake City, UT, 1982 .

Exhibition Checklist: Travel Notes page 4, 1993, silver gelatin prints

with found objects and text, 24 x 20 inches. Travel Notes page 5, 1993, silver gela tin prints

with found objects and tex t, 24 x 20 inches. Travel Notes page 9, 1993, si lver ge latin prints

and text, 24 x 20 inches. Travel Notes page 21 1993, silver gelatin prints

wi th found objects, 24 x 20 inches . Travel Notes page 22, 1993, silver gelatin prints

and text, 24 x 20 inches. Travel N otes page 25, 1993, si lver gelatin prints

w ith found ob jec ts and text, 24 x 20 inches.

Lori Moc, Trovel NOles page 25, 1993, si lver

gelatin print and lext, 2A x 20 inche, .

\~llhnUI h,llln).!.1 nq~.II I \l· 11111'.1.1

111 1 Int' f('.tI ..... "rIJ

18

Richard Olderman WilmeHe, Illinois

Richard O lderman, Jaguar, from the seri es A Visual Study of on Un-Notural His tory, 1993, silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 in che s.

I have always had a bewildered and curious fascination with the stuffed wild­life I would discover encased behind transparency in Ihe various nalural his­tory museums I would explore as a child. This particular experience, the deli berale presentation of a beast of the wild in an almost fairy tale setting, continues to this day . The discovery that the photographic image of this encoun­ter provides an even greater degree of entrancement has encouraged me 10

explore further The quiet contempla­tion of the photograph, the seeing of the hide, hair, and feathers of various ani­mals depieled, reveals a sensation of life in the eyes of glass and a quiel sti rri ng in the constructed a nd arranged pose.

Here is Ihe point for me: to presenllo you the possibility that the spirit of a once free roaming , living creature can be seen and heart-felt most clearly in a photographic representation of its like­ness; and Ihat this once proud being, stitched, stuffed, wired, and so carefully arranged behind glass, can so easily be recorded on Ihe emulsion in my camera. In this case, it is the photo­graphic image Ihat holds and illumi­nates the spirit of the deceased animal, not ils display I have always felt there was something trying to make contael as I peered into those arlificial environ­ments something nat to be seen with the eye somelhing still alive.

Education: M .F.A .. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL,

1972.

Exhibition Checklist: Bear from the series A Visual Study of an Un·

Notural History, 1993, silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 inches.

Cheetah from the series A Visual Study of an Un· Natural History, 1993, silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 inches.

Jaguar, from the series A Visual Study o f an Un· Natural History, 1993, si lver gelatin print. 16 x 20 inches.

Lion from the series A Visual Study ofan Un·Natural History, 1993, silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 inches.

Orangutan from the series A Visual Study of on Un· Natural History, 1993, silver gelatin print, 16 x 20 inches.

19

EdYlard Pardee Fairfax, California

I sculpt, deconstruct, and reconstruct elements until it appears that a new kind of innate reality exists. I reinforce this reality by utilizing the gestalt idea of closure the mind's completion of what the eye receives ; the nature of parts is determined by and is secondary to the whole. Further, I photograph my sculp­tures close up, in a familiar setting, or from an intimate point of view More reinforcement comes from creating the sharp focus, hyper-realistic style that is common in modern food photography It is also essential that the final images be life size.

My photographs contain paradoxi­cal information, a familiar reality has been revoked. There is a momentary uncertainty, a perceptual dilemma, in which the viewer may be taken in to translate the riddle. This is my intent. However, my aim is not solely tromp I' oeil; to create aesthetic illusions which may deceive and entertain.

My sculptures are imaginarycreations of gene reconstruction . They are brave new designs of genetic refinement, the engineering of species. They are better nature through chemistry However, I hope these transgenic parodies will serve to transport the viewer to other meanings and concerns. I want my work to provoke questions about the direction and ecological uncertainties of genetic engineering.

Selected Exhibitions: All California luried Exhibition, Son Diego Mu·

seum 01 Art, San Diego, CA, 1993. Imagination , Suffolk Community Col lege,

Riverhead, NY 1993. Aesthetics '93, McPherson College, McPherson,

KS, 1993. Food Art, Redding Museum 01 Art and History,

Redding, CA, 1993. 20th International Art Exhibition, Georgia Tech

University, Atlanta, GA, 1993. Photowork '93, Barrett House Galleries,

Poughkeepsie, NY 1993.

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "Imagination Gets Its Just Rewards," by Helen A.

Harrison, New York Times, March 14, 1993 . "Social Statements Strong in Photo Exhibit," by

James G. Shine, Daily Freeman, Poughkeepsie, NY February 19 1993.

"Aesthetics '93," by Estelle Renberger, Friendship Hall Gallery, McPherson College, McPherson, KS, April 1 1993 .

Education: B.S., University 01 New Hoven, New Hoven, CT

1962.

Exhibition Checklist: Potent Pending, 1993, Cibachrome print, 14 x 17

inches. Bel/erNature Through Chemistry, 1992, Ektacolor

print, 1 1 x 14 inches. Camano, 1992, Cibachrome print, 17 x 14 inches. Cucumber With Added Fiber, 1992, Cibachrame

print, 14 x 17 inches. Gene Design VF 45, Unbreakable Egg, 1992,

Ektacalor print, 17 x 14 inches.

Edward Pardee, Gene Design VF 45,

Unbreakable Egg. 1992, Eklacalar prinl,

17 x 14 inches. L-________________________________---'

Michael Schell New York, New York

Lingering-Epiphany is a portra it of deserts: Mojave, the slums, the Cross, and the quiet mind. To some, a desert is a place with an arid climate. To me, it is anyplace where life persists in a harsh environment.

The Mojave Desert, like the rest of the American West, projects an overwhelm­ing sense of loss. A loss of innocence, since it has been defiled by roads , cities and aqueducts, and a loss of history, since its rich past is visible only in traces: an abandoned mine or an In­dian rock drawing. It is a place which thousands cross every day in cars and trucks, but where one is still profoundly alone the perfect metaphor for the pastmodern condition.

The squa lor of our urban deserts also speaks of loss and abandonment: the street people standing around , the boarded up buildings all signs of past lives and affluence. Likewise, the Cross is a symbol of the past, of an antiquated religious context whose eloquence is long lost. Splattered acrass the urban landscape, it is no longer an object of particular significance, but is simply part of the environment, like the sage­brush which blankets the West.

The imagery unfolds in an austere pallet of monochrome yellows, browns and reds. The accompanying score is a collage of distant sounds: trains, birds, metal instruments. It is harsh and am­biguous music. At the end of the work,

a cross-shaped tombstone appears, in­congruously, in a desert gully The music relents and softens, suggesting the quiescence one often feels during a religious experience, or while alone in the desert.

If romanticism refers not so much to a 19th century aesthetic paradigm, but to what Monroe Beardsley has called a "striving for the infinite," then one can readily note the traditional association of romanticism with science and scien­tific research. It is the effort to penetrate nature, to unlock divine secrets, that reveals the romantic side of scientific inquiry Certainly scientists, like roman­tic poets, begin with the empirical ob­servation, of people or of nature. And scores of scientists, Einstein and Poincare among them , have emphasized the aesthetic relationship between scientist and subject matter, declaring the need for beauty and elegance in any formula or theory.

This link between science and nature is the basis of a dialectic used through­out Higher Laws. Synthesized images of sc ientists and technicians working in research laboratories alternate with outdoor scenes shot in the American West. The dichotomy is brought to­gether at the end by an extended se­quence shot during a service expedi­tion to a remote seismometer in the Sierra Nevada.

Michael Schell, Slill from Lingering-Epiphany.

The accompanying score employs a more abstract dialectic, alternating be­tween two ideas: a rhetorical "density" music using digitally synthesized sounds, and a lyrical, sinuous music performed by a solo viola (the viola sounds are part of the recorded fabric and are not performed live). These non-referential sounds act as a sort of aural substrate for the imagery A ground perhaps, but not relegated to background status as a result.

The title Higher Laws suggests divine truths as well as empirical theories. But the specific reference is to Thoreau:

"We are most interested when sci­ence reports what men already know practically or instinctively, for that alone is a true humanity, or account of human experience."

Today, scientists warn us of ozone depletion, global warming and the im­pending ecological collapse of our planet. Amid this is the hope of a new global environmental consciousness. I would like Higher Laws to be viewed within the context of this hope.

Setected Exhibitions: 77 Hz, Roulelte, New York, NY 1993. Three Rivers Arts Festival, Piltsburgh , PA, 1993 . Image Union, WTTW-TV Chicago, Il, 1993. Artem{ls} Rising, The Kilchen, New York , NY

1993. Amigo Art Show, Cenler for Exploralory &Percep­

tual Art, Buffalo, NY 1992 . Amigo Art Show, Dallas Video Fes/ival, Dallas, TX,

1992.

Exhibition Checklist: Higher Laws, 1990, videa/ape, I I minutes. Lingering-Epiphany, 1990, videotape, I I 3/ 4

minutes.

2 1

Judith Selby There are so many things we don' t see anymore : categories of di sregard , chemical imbalances, the extinct ion of species. The earth is aching from the burden . Now crushed in gutters, blown dow n alleyways, hidden in bushes, I find the fil ters and stained shreds o f c igarettes. I have gathered cigarette butts in parking lots, on the steps o f formidable government buildings, in places o f pri stine beauty, everywhere, everywhere.

TOBACCO QUIPU is the visual docu­mentation of an art and healing cer­emony Each day for ten minutes for thirty days, I performed a ritual to cleanse the earth . From var ious locat ions in the San Franc isco Bay Area , I collected discarded cigarette butts. Using the Inca quipu as a model, I strung the butts on long colored wires. Between each group of ten, a pattern of beads was added to indicate the day of the week. Found objects were used to denote the site of collection. When displayed, the strands of the quipu are arranged to form a 12 foot diameter circle.

Cigarette companies were queried about the biodegradibility of the mate­rials they use. Those written responses to my request for information along with my journal describing the collecting process are adjuncts to the installation.

TOBACCO QUIPUwith its emphasis on tobacco and its abuses highlights the need fo r ecological aw areness in re­gards to this pervasive social problem.

Novato, California

Selected Exhibitions: 8us Shelter Gallery. San Francisco M useum 01

Modern Art. San Francisco. CA, 1993 . Vin ti: One Year, University Gallery, University 01

Delaware, Nework, DE, 1993 . Vinti: One Year, N ational A IDS Conven tion, San

Froncisco, CA, 199 1 Aging: The Process, The Perception, The FORUM

Gallery. Jamestown, N Y 1990 the subject is AIDS, Nexus Contemporary Art

Cen ter, Atlanta, GA, 1989 . Crocker Kingsley, Crocker Art Museum, Sacra­

mento, CA, 1988 .

Reviews, Publications, and Catalogs: "Landmarks Along City Streets." by Reena Jana,

Artweek, Son Jose, CA, 1992 . "Healing Through Art," by M irka Knas ter, East­

West Journal, Boston, MA, 1990. "Fight Aga inst AIDS," by Li z Lufkin, San Francisco

Chronicle, Sa n Franci sco , CA, 1989. " Vin ti : A Por tra it o f Hope," by Ca th erine

Se iden berg, San Francisco Sentinel, So n Fran­cisco, CA, 1989 .

Education: M .A , San Fran cisco Sta te Un iversity, So n Fran­

cisco, CA, 1994 . 8A, Pitzer College, Claremon t, CA, 1972 .

Exhibition Checklist: TOBACCO QUIPU, 1992, mixed mediums, 12

feet in diameter.

Judi th Selby, TOBACCO QUIPU, t 992, mixed mediums, t 2 'eet in diameter.

AcknoYlledgements The FORUM Gallery presents signifi­cant and professionally executed solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art and related programs, events, and services to both the artist and nonartist residents of Chautauqua County, NY, and the surrounding area. Our pro­grams focus primarily on the leading edge of today's art. Through our pro­grams, we strive to stimulate discussion, to challenge assumptions, and to present artwork relevant to the social and cul­tural life of the general and special populations within our service area.

Programs of The FORUM Gallery are funded in part by the Jamestown Com­munity College Foundation; the Faculty Student Association at JCC, The Chautauqua Region Community Foun­dation; The Ralph C. Sheldon Founda­tion; and our corporate and individual members.

The FORUM Gallery at Jamestown Community College P O. Box 20 Jamestown, New York 14702-0020 (716) 665-9107

The FORUM Gallery is located on the campus of Jamestown Community Col­lege at 525 Falconer Street.

Gallery hours: Tuesday Saturday 11 a.m. 5 p.m. (Thursday 11 a.m. 8 p.m.)

Gallery staff: Dan R. Talley, Director Michelle Henry, Assistant

Student assistants: Amy Rice D. Clarke Smith

Gallery development committee: Nancy Bargar Renate Bob William Disbro Mike Fitzpatrick Robert Hagstrom John Hiester Cletus Johnson Gloria Lasser Alberto Rey Lois Strickler Mary Beth Zacher

Catalog design: NeoText

Editorial/production assistants: Michelle Henry, Amy Rice, and D. Clarke Smith

Catalog printing: Studio Printing, Jamestown, New York

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs were provided by the artists.

All dimensions are listed in inches with height preceding width, then depth.

The FORUM Gallery is an Associate Member of the National Association of Artists Organizations.

© 1993, The FORUM Gallery

/

The FORU M Gallery