Friday, April 26, 2013

Intriguing Diversity of the Earth Chronicles Project: New Mexico documentary and exhibition at the Santa Fe Art Institute

"Earth Chronicles Project, The Artist's Process: New Mexico" exhibition

Our Earth Chronicles Project: New Mexico screening of the documentary in progress and exhibition of the artists interviewed in the documentary is presently up at the Santa Fe Art Institute 1600 St. Michael's Drive in Santa Fe. 

The Earth Chronicles Project is the work of co-producers Fran Hardy and Bob Demboski
Curated by Fran Hardy, co-producer of the Earth Chronicles Project, environmental artist and filmmaker
Co-producer Bob Demboski, filmmaker and editor, exhibition design


For more in depth info go to the SFAI blog link above.

Encore Screening of the documentary: May 13 at 6pm
Encore Screening and Q&A in partnership with the Nature Conservancy
With filmmakers Fran Hardy & Bob Demboski and Martha Schumann, Nature Conservancy Southwest New Mexico Field Representative
For more information on this special screening
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/newmexico/events/earth-chronicles-project.xml

You can also view the documentary and a video installation on our inspiration in New Mexico in two small viewing rooms in the exhibition space if you are unable to attend the encore screening of the documentary.
Here is a map to reach SFAI:



Some production stills from the documentary "Earth Chronicles Project, The Artist's Process: New Mexico"

Interviewing Martha Schumann, New Mexico Nature Conservancy southwest field representative at the Gila Riparian Preserve 




Fran interviewing Chimayo weaver Irvin Trujillo, NEA National Heritage Fellow of Centinela Traditional Arts





More pictures of the exhibition:

Recycled glass sculpture by Stacey Neff, ancient trees and native plants of New Mexico by Fran Hardy, Rio Grande/ Chimayo weaving by Irvin Trujillo


From left to right: native plants of New Mexico by Fran Hardy, weavings of the Two Grey Hills region from Toadlena Trading Post, recycled glass sculptures by Stacey Neff


Left to right: Constellation Series by Bill Gilbert, fiber art by Lauren Camp

Left to right: fiber art by Lauren Camp, photographs of Valles Caldera by Rourke McDermott

Artist's book by Lauren Camp

"Constellation Series" by Bill Gilbert

 Left to right: "Kitchen Mesa 3" by Fran Hardy, weavings by Lisa and Irvin Trujillo

Left to right: weavings by Irvin and Lisa Trujillo, "Kitchen Mesa 4" by Fran Hardy

Photographs of Valles Caldera by Rourke McDermott

"Wind Season" by Lauren Camp

Installation by Catherine Page Harris

This is what Catherine has to say about the motivation for her installation:
The unifying idea is "reflection" -- the person can sit, the bird can perch.  Each side of the desk can rise and fall with the temperature.  A gas cylinder controlled arm moves them upwards if the ambient temperature is over 70 degrees or so.  The expectation is that the indoor one would move less, being climate controlled, but it is possible that the solar gain of the window will move the arm more.

Left to right: native plants and trees of New Mexico by Fran Hardy, recycled glass sculptures by Stacey Neff





I have blogged about each of these artists individually on previous blogposts so go back to other blogposts to read more in depth writings about them.

Also to learn more about the artists and see more about the Earth Chronicles Project go to the links below:

Fran Hardy and the Earth Chronicles Project:

Lauren Camp:

Stacey Neff and the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop:

Irvin and Lisa Trujillo and Centinela Traditional Arts:

Mark and Linda Winter, owners of Toadlena Trading Post present the weavings of the Two Grey Hills region:

Rourke McDermott:

Bill Gilbert:

Catherine Page Harris:
http://art.unm.edu/people/faculty/harris.catherine.html

For more information on the New Mexico Nature Conservancy's work in the Gila Riparian Preserve and the Mimbres River Preserves:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/newmexico/placesweprotect/the-gila-riparian-preserve.xml
The Gila Riparian Preserve protects more than 1,200 acres of the southwest's fragile riparian habitat and the verdant gallery woodland among the Gila River, the last of the southwest's major free-flowing rivers.

In 2009, the Conservancy added four acres of important riverside habitat to the Gila Riparian Preserve. The new stretch inserts an important piece to this project area, which includes the preserve and more than 250,000 acres collaboratively managed by the Conservancy, local landowners, federal and state agencies and local organizations.

The Conservancy's long-term vision for the preserve is simple: Let the river rediscover its natural floodplain and enable new cottonwoods and willows to spring up, providing habitat for neotropical migratory songbirds, especially southwest willow flycatcher—a species whose population is in trouble.

The Gila River supports one of the highest concentrations of breeding birds in North America and an astonishing array of plant and animal life. In the river are found several fish, including the loach minnow and spikedace, which are federally listed as threatened. A host of other rare animal species also use the preserve's habitats.
 
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/newmexico/placesweprotect/mimbres-river-preserve.xml

In 1994, the Conservancy established the Mimbres River Preserve in southwestern New Mexico, near Silver City. The preserve is an irreplaceable riparian area covering 600 acres and five river miles. The river is a closed-basin desert stream—meaning its surface water never flows out of the Mimbres River basin. But over its 40-mile length, the Mimbres covers a wide and diverse landscape, from its headwaters near 10,000 feet in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness of the Gila National Forest to its terminus in the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands near the Mexican border.
The Mimbres watershed includes dense forests of Douglas fir and ponderosa pine, piñon-juniper savanna, desert grasslands, Chihuahuan desert scrub, riparian forests, cienegas (or marshes), springs and stream reaches that may be perennial, intermittent or ephemeral.  The basin, located between the mountains of the Mogollon Rim, the Rio Grande watershed and the Chihuahuan Desert, has been alternatively isolated from and connected with other river systems over time.  As a result, the Mimbres has evolved a remarkably diverse fauna and flora, including a handful of species, such as the Chihuahua chub, that are found nowhere else in the United States.
The waters of the Mimbres, replenished by abundant summer rainfall in the upper basin, also support an extensive network of cottonwood-willow forests, sacaton floodplain grasslands (a coarse perennial grass), hot and cold springs and other rare riparian communities.
The preserve was established not only for the characteristic riparian communities it supports but to conserve river habitat for the endangered Chihuahua chub and Chiricahua leopard frog. The chub and leopard frog have declined because of habitat degradation due to water withdrawals, river channelization, parasites and pathogens and the introduction of non-native fish species.




Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Big Push: Mounting our exhibition and readying our documentary screening at the Santa Fe Art Insitute

In foreground Irvin and Lisa Trujillo, Katie Avery from SFAI and Fran Hardy
In background Mark and Linda Winter with Lani mounting Toadlena Trading Post's Navajo weavings of the Two Grey Hills Region

Opening Reception/ Screening of the Documentary at the Santa Fe Art Institute April 15th at 6pm

If you can't make it to the opening and screening on April 15th the show will be at SFAI April 15-May 17th  9am-5pm  Monday through Friday with a small viewing room in the exhibition space to watch the documentary and also a video installation done by Bob Demboski. 


Works being installed by Stacey Neff, Fran Hardy and the navajo weavers of the Two Grey Hills region from Toadlena Trading Post 

The big push starts on Tuesday April 9th as we begin mounting our "Earth Chronicles Project, The Artist's Process: New Mexico" at the Santa Fe Art Institute. Bob is still also very busy getting the documentary in progress ready for screening at our opening reception. 

Tuesday is very hectic with many of the artists coming to deliver their work at the same time while we work on arranging all of the work. This is a group effort. At NMHU Bob and I and the staff did most of the hanging but in this case many of the artists are glad to hang their own work, with our guidance on placement, since Santa Fe is accessible for many of them. Mark and Linda Winter drove all of the way from Toadlena Trading Post to work their magic on their portion of the exhibition and Irvin and Lisa Trujillo came in from Chimayo to hang their weavings. 

The Santa Fe Art Institute mounts very important exhibitions but are glad to have the help as they operate with six full time employees who have to coordinate all of the work that goes into running this multi-faceted arts institute. 

By the end of the day with so much going on and so much input from so many people Bob and I leave not sure whether the placement of the art thus far works for us, but coming in the next day with fresh eyes we are very pleased.

   Thinking hard about placement and organizing all of the work, Mark Winter in the foreground with Lani and Fran in the background looking over our floor plan developed for the show, Stacey Neff's sculptures from recycled glass in the foreground also

Stacey Neff's sculptures and Fran Hardy's ancient trees and native plants of New Mexico mounted

Irvin and Lisa Trujillo of Centinela Traditional Arts mounting their Rio Grande/Chimayo weavings

More of Irvin and Lisa Trujillo's weavings with Mark Winter in the background mounting Toadlena's installation


The dynamic duo, Mark and Linda Winter of Toadlena Trading Post
We got into a spoof about the covered cases being called vitrines which Mark thought sounded an awful lot like latrine so he said he was going to the vitrine when he went off to the men's room.
Anyone know why they are called 'vitrines'? 
Sounds French to me......

Katie Avery from SFAI, who is the one woman show mounting machine so I think she was very glad to have our help with the diversity and complexity of this exhibition. She is in front of some of my ancient trees being arranged for hanging,

My co-producer and partner Bob Demboski with his 'weapon' of choice for mounting work, the screw gun. We could never get all of this accomplished without collaborating on all of the aspects of this multi-faceted project.

David Camp installing Lauren Camp's work


David Camp mounting Lauren Camp's work with Bill Gilbert's Constellation series hung in the background. Bill Gilbert came in on Monday to hang his work taking time out from his very busy schedule as Lannan Endowed Chair of the Land Arts of the American West at UNM. Bill talks about this program that he founded at UNM in our documentary. 

Bob 'surveying the situation'

It takes an incredible amount of planning and work to bring these projects together. These days of mounting the exhibition are only a small facet of what we have to do to bring all of this together for the "Earth Chronicles Project, The Artist's Process: New Mexico"

To see the work of the artists featured in the show:
http://www.franhardy.com  Fran Hardy, environmental artist, filmmaker, curator
http://www.gcvmproductions.com/  Bob Demboski  filmmaker, co-producer of the Earth Chronicles Project
http://www.laurencamp.com  Lauren Camp poet, fiber artist
http://www.chimayoweavers.com/  Irvin and Lisa Trujillo  Chimayo/Rio Grande weavers
http://www.toadlenatradingpost.com/   Navajo weavers of the Two Grey Hills region
http://www.unm.edu/~wgilbert/   Bill Gilbert environmental artist, Lannan Endowed Chair of the Land Arts of the American West at UNM
rourkemcdermott.com   Rourke McDermott   landscape architect at Valles Caldera National Preserve, photographer
http://staceyneff.com/sculpture.php  Stacey Neff  artist, founder and Executive Director of the New Mexico Experimental Glass Workshop
http://cargocollective.com/landwork/Catherine-Page-Harris  Catherine Page Harris landscape architect, environmental artist, faculty of the Art and Ecology Program at UNM

I have had six solo museum exhibitions of my work across the country but through these projects I get the experience of 'being on the other side of the fence' as curator and co-producer selecting which artists will be featured in our film and exhibitions, that meet the criterion of art from the region we are covering which addresses the issues of art, ecological sustainability and cultural preservation. It is great being able to chose the art of passionate individuals that I find inspirational. I also curate the other individuals, groups and places that we feature in our documentary.
Fran Hardy 

curator (from Latincurare meaning "take care") is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., gallerymuseumlibrary or archive) is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretationof heritage material. The object of a traditional curator's concern necessarily involves tangible objects of some sort, whether it be artwork, collectibles, historic items or scientific collections. More recently, new kinds of curators are emerging: curators of digital data objects andbiocurators.
In smaller organizations, a curator may have sole responsibility for the acquisition and care of objects. The curator will make decisions regarding what objects to take, oversee their potential and documentations, conduct research based on the collection and history that provides propered packaging of art for transportation, and share that research with the public and polymath community through exhibitions and publications. In very small volunteer-based museums, such as local historical societies, a curator may be the only paid staff member.
In larger institutions, the curator's primary function is as a subject specialist, with the expectation that he or she will conduct original research on objects and guide the organization in its collecting. Such institutions can have multiple curators, each assigned to a specific collecting area (e.g. Curator of Ancient Art, Curator of Prints and Drawings, etc.) and often operating under the direction of a head curator. In such organizations, the physical care of the collection may be overseen by museum collections managers or museum conservators, and documentation and administrative matters (such as insurance and loans) are handled by a museum registrar.