Art and environment reign at SoFA gallery

Three exhibitions re-examining a connection between art and the environment open today at the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts Gallery.

“INHABIT,” “Polar Drifts: Projects from Northern Crossings” and “All Points Bulletin: Interventions on Climate Change,” explore the ideas of art and the environment but each in different, special ways.

“It’s going to be this nice span because the ‘All Points Bulletin’ exhibit is very specific – it’s activist art, but ‘INHABIT’ swings one way and ‘Polar Drifts’ kind of straddles it,” said Megan Abajian, public relations director for the SoFA gallery and co-curator of the “INHABIT” exhibition. “You get a full spectrum.”

The shows will be on display until March 12, with an opening reception for all three Friday.

INHABIT
“INHABIT,” which will be in the west part of the gallery, explores the environment but not in a green sense.

“It doesn’t mean necessarily that it’s about environmentalism from an activist standpoint,” Abajian said. “It’s more of an observational note on an artist’s surroundings and how they interact with their surroundings or possibly even how their environment changes from day to day.”

The exhibit will feature pieces by six outside artists. Works include a typography reference sculpture, a mural made from latex house paint and damaged studio walls.

“The artists aren’t affiliated with IU so they’re bringing a different perspective into the fine arts community here,” Abajian said. “Bloomington is its own little pocket in Indiana, so getting out of the comfort of the hometown is kind of challenging.”

Ajiban also said being able to use IU, a learning institution, as a host for outside work makes a difference.

ALL POINTS BULLETIN: INTERVENTIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
“All Points Bulletin,” a show composed of entirely student work, is in the center gallery. It is the second part of the “Canary Project: Works on Climate Change 2006-2009,” an exhibition that kicked off the gallery’s season last fall.

“Canary Project” came from the husband and wife duo of Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris. The couple teamed up in 2006 to make people aware of climate change and how activist art can contribute to carrying that message.

During the fall 2009 semester, SoFA and the Canary Project created an eight-week course titled “Art/Engagement/Activism,” in which students learned about art and the environment from a variety of sources, including a philosopher, environmental lawyer
and climatologist.

“It’s a synthesis of scientific and visual terms into something that everyone can relate to,” said Erin Tobey, a student in the class and one of the student curators of the “All Points Bulletin” exhibit.

The pieces the students created as a result of the class will be displayed at the “All Points Bulletin” exhibition.

“It was a good opportunity to work with real artists,” said Emily Loehle, a student in the class and the other student curator of the exhibit. “It was interesting because you don’t often see that marriage of environmentalism and art.”

POLAR DRIFTS: PROJECTS FROM NORTHERN CROSSINGS
“Polar Drifts” features the work of Leslie Sharpe, an assistant professor in the School of Fine Arts.

According to a press release, Sharpe, who grew up in Alberta, Canada, created her “Northern Crossing” project to address boundaries, climate change and the  culture of the north, northern Canada specifically.

In the project, Sharpe discusses how the Canadian Arctic region has changed, both environmentally and culturally through a variety of media including multimedia, photography, drawing and personal artifacts.

Before the opening reception on Friday, Sharpe will sit on a panel discussion, “When Green is More than a Color: The Environment in the Visual Arts,” which will address how the green movement has influenced the art market, sustainability in art and the social responsibility of artists, among other things.