Events
Over the last decade, gardens and food have emerged as hot topics in local communities and on college campuses across America. Concerns over climate change, food security and safety, energy independence, social justice, and public health have led to a growing interest in alternative food production and sustainable landscape design.
Please join the College of Agriculture, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of Art at Auburn University as we continue to explore the intersections of art, culture, ecology, and sustainability through our 2010 focus on gardens.
< exhibition >Jan. 18 - Feb. 26
Agritecture
Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall
What does the Chia Pet™ have to do with sustainable living? Can grain crops be an art form? Jeff Schmuki, visiting artist in the Auburn University Department of Art, challenges viewers both to confront and to collaborate on these and other issues in Agritecture.
< lecture >January 19, 2010
The End of Land Art
Kelley Wacker
5:00 PM (CST), 005 Biggin Hall
Land Art—what is it, when did it develop, and how has it evolved in the contemporary U.S.? Art historian Kelly Wacker lays the groundwork for understanding the progression of the Land Art movement. A reception will follow the lecture.
< lecture > February 2, 2010
Artistic Imagination + Habitat Devastation = Environmental Restoration
Linda Weintraub
5:00 PM (CST), 005 Biggin Hall
How would you portray Mother Nature? Is she fertile, nurturing, and healthy? Or is she frail and tarnished, in need of restoration? Writer, curator, educator, and artist Linda Weintraub looks at pioneering efforts of artists who are redefining art for an age characterized by widespread environmental concerns. A reception will follow the lecture.
< lecture > February 11, 2010
Armegardden
Jeff Schmuki
5:00 PM (CDT), 005 Biggin Hall
Can art help create a sustainable future? How can community, empowerment, and environmental education counter environmental degradation? Jeff Schmuki discusses ecology, sustainability, and a do-it-yourself philosophy as evidenced in his exhibit, Agritecture, which runs until Feb. 26 in Biggin Hall. A reception will follow the lecture.
< lecture > February 18, 2010
Designing to Enable: A Case for Civic Agriculture and A Culture of Resistance
Matther Groshek
5:00 PM (CST), 005 Biggin Hall
How can a university encourage its students to become involved in their community? What is the social network that makes community gardens sustainable? Matthew Groshek—assistant professor, Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI—provides insights based on his work with his campus administration to create an on-campus community garden. A reception will follow the lecture.
< lecture > March 23, 2010
Welcoming the Wild
Fritz Haeg
7:00 PM (CDT), Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
What is the role of the artist and designer in society at large? Can ordinary citizens make a difference in their local ecologies? Artist, architect, gardener, and activist Fritz Haeg is known for transforming American front yards into vegetable gardens. Haeg, the spring 2010 E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer, talks about these gardens and details strategies for weaving wild activities into our existing lives.
< exhibition > April 3 - 17
Student Exhibition
Dudley Gallery and 3D Arts Building Gallery
This exhibition will feature student research on sustainable stormwater management and rainwater harvesting, all practices that encourage stormwater infiltration and remove non-point source pollution. In particular, the exhibition will feature sustainable landscape designs from the Landscape Architecture Program (Charlene LeBleu), rain barrels designed by the Industrial Design Program (Jerrod Wyndom), sculptural rain chains by the sculpture area of the Art Department (Christopher McNulty), and drawings by the drawing area of the Art Department (Barb Bondy).
The exhibition will occupy two galleries on campus: Dudley Gallery (361 Graves Drive) and the 3D Arts Building Gallery (1161 West Samford Ave.). An exhibition reception will be announced.
< panel discussion > April 7, 2010
Discussion: Digging Deeper
5:00 PM (CDT), 112 Rouse Life Sciences Building
What happens when artists make the environment their medium? In what ways is the process of agriculture an aesthetic practice?
Join moderator Barb Bondy of the College of Liberal Arts for the continuation of an interdisciplinary conversation that considers the common ground shared by artists, scholars, scientists, agrarians, designers, and environmentalists. Faculty and staff from the College of Agriculture (Department of Horticulture and Department of Agronomy and Soils), the College of Liberal Arts (Department of Art), and the College of Architecture, Design and Construction (School of Landscape Architecture) dig deeper into the aesthetic, social, and environmental issues addressed by gardening.
< lecture > April 19, 2010
Garden in the Kindergarten
Susan Herrington
4:00 PM (CDT), 005 Biggin Hall
Did you know that the first German kindergartens contained gardens? How has our understanding of childhood influenced places of play for children today? Join landscape architect Susan Herrington as she traces the development of gardens in kindergartens during the 19th century in Germany and their later transformation in North America.
< exhibition > May - Sept. 1, 2010
Eco Art, Student Exhibition
Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall
The exhibition, "Eco Art: Auburn University students explore sustainability," will run from mid-May through Sept. 1, 2010. The exhibition was created in response to "Art in Agriculture," a yearlong initiative that examines the intersections of art, culture, ecology, and the environment. The exhibit is sponsored by the Department of Art in the College of Liberal Arts and features sculptures, installations, drawings, postcards, and artists' books in a wide range of media and styles created in art classes at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. It is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is wheelchair accessible.
< workshops > TBA
Common Ground
What is the common ground between art and science? How do we
reclaim and reconnect with our food, community, and environment?
Workshops and activities for children and adults delve into one of
Alabama’s most popular pastimes that blends art and agriculture—
gardening. Creativity, connection, fulfillment, transformation begin
when we get our hands in the soil.
For the availability of specific
workshops, visit our Web site in the coming months.