08/15/2009

An Eco-Friendly Fall

Green is the “in” color at Auburn this fall thanks to several eco-friendly events planned for the Auburn campus.

Water: Three States” is the inaugural event for Art in Agriculture, an annual series through which artists and scientists examine a topic related to agriculture, food, the environment or natural resources. An exhibition (Aug. 24 - Nov. 10) of artists from Alabama, Georgia and Florida and an accompanying interdisciplinary panel discussion (Sept. 29) examine the attitudes and strategies artists, scientists and environmentalists share when it comes to working with water—one of the fundamental materials of nature.

The fall 2009 E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer, oceanographer Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the late world-renowned cinematographer and explorer Jacques- Yves Cousteau, presents a lecture (Sept. 22) and visits with students (Sept. 23) on topics related to sustainable oceans and natural resource preservation.

Exhibition “Water: Three States” (Phase I)
August 24 – September 29
Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall
“Water: Three States” (Phase I) presents projects by Martha Whittington, Xiaotian Wang and Xavier Cortada that explore the intersections between this life-sustaining substance and culture in the Southeast. Martha Whittington, a Georgia-based artist, presents kinetic sculptures that suggest the practice of dowsing, the art of divining hidden water sources. Photographs by Xiaotian Wang, also of Georgia, reveal in their innovative process and evocative imagery the recent changes in the chemical make up of the Chattahoochee River. Finally, Xavier Cortada, an eco-artist from Miami, propagates mangrove plants, sustained in cups of water, inside the gallery. Cortada will replant these seedlings in the disappearing mangrove forests of the Florida coast as part of his on-going participatory work “The Reclamation Project.” Biggin Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Lecture “One Water One People”
Fabien Cousteau
September 22, 7 p.m.
The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center Aquatic filmmaker and oceanographic explorer, son of Jean-Michel Cousteau and grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau is the fall 2009 E.T. York Distinguished Lecturer. Cousteau’s recent adventures involve partnering with his father and sister to complete a three-year multi-hour series, Ocean Adventures, for PBS (www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures), which explores such topics as the Pacific grey whale migration, the National Marine Sanctuaries, the Amazon, Beluga whales in the Arctic and more. His lecture on global environmental issues such as sustainable oceans and natural resource preservation is free and open to the public.

Discussion “Water: Three States” (A Conversation)
September 29, 5 p.m.
005 Biggin Hall
Join moderator Katie Lamar Jackson of the College of Agriculture for a conversation about water issues in the art, culture and environment of the Southeast. Panelists include Bill Deutsch, director of Alabama Water Watch; Beth Maynor Young, conservation photographer and author of Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers; Eve Brantley, Auburn University agronomy and soils assistant professor for water quality and Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist; and Xiaotian Wang, a Georgia-based artist whose work has focused on the Chattahoochee River. A reception and book signing will follow the panel discussion.

Exhibition “Water: Three States” (Phase II)
October 12 – November 10
Biggin Gallery, 101 Biggin Hall
Phase II of “Water: Three States” continues the conversation started in Phase I by contrasting the power of water to overwhelm human society with the hopeful potential for growth and restoration. Daniel Kariko, a Florida-based photographer, presents “Storm Season,” a series of pinhole photographs that document the on-going erosion of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of recent hurricanes. Similarly, Andy Behrle, a sculptor living and working in Alabama, deals directly with the corrosive forces of water on natural and synthetic materials in his large-scale installations. Their investigations of the persistent and sometimes devastating powers of water are quietly counterbalanced by the continued growth of Xavier Cortada’s live mangrove seedlings (see “Water: Three States” [Phase I] at left). Biggin Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Lecture “Participatory Art Projects—Global Awareness/Local Action”
Xavier Cortada
October 12, 5 p.m.
005 Biggin Hall
Miami-based artist Xavier Cortada discusses eco-art projects in which he engages the environment directly through actions that address climate change and environmental restoration. In addition to raising awareness of these issues, many of Cortada’s works also invite the participation of individuals and communities to create change at the local level. Cortada will discuss his work as an eco-artist, especially his on-going efforts with the restoration of the Florida mangrove forests, a participatory art project featured in the exhibition“Water: Three States.” A reception will follow the lecture.

For more information on Art in Ag events contact The Department of Art at 334-844-4373 or College of Agriculture at 334-844-5886 or visit www. ag.auburn.edu/ArtinAg/.

Contact: Katie Jackson, 334-844-5887 or smithcl@auburn.edu

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OFFICE OF AG COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 COMER HALL, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
AUBURN, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
AgComm@auburn.edu