Posts from ‘Think Globally’
All Things NMWA
Lots and lots of National Museum of Wildlife Art news and updates! Here is a full list of activities related to our museum on the hill.
#1: Dr. Seuss!
Whose childhood–and by extension, adulthood–has not been charmed by Theodor Geisel’s opus? We all occasionally find ourselves thinking “Seussical.” 
“The Lorax: Original Illustrations by Dr. Seuss” is on display at the museum through September 7. NMWA notes that the Lorax’s tale is a cautionary one, a tale ahead of its time, warning us of our own penchant for wrecking our beloved environment. The exhibit gives us access to Seuss’ process, from conceptual sketches to to camera-ready line art. Anthropormorphism of wildlife and our relationship to the natural world are the coal in creative story-telling engines; Disney has built an empire around these themes. Stand out exhibit characters include Swomee-Swans and Humming-Fish.
“Seuss was not one to shy away from contemporary topics or social commentary. The Lorax is among his most pointed, taking to task a company whose greed causes grave environmental harm,” notes the Museum. ” This exhibit combines original art as it probes humanity’s relationship with nature, making a perfect match for the National Museum of Wildlife Art.” The exhibit is on loan from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum.
Special fun-for-kids activities tied to Seuss’s art will be offered throughout the Museum. The Lorax exhibition is included in Museum admission: $10 for adults, $5 for kids 5-18, and free for children under 5. A family rate of $30 for the first two adults, first two children, and $1 for each additional child helps make the Museum affordable for larger families.
#2: Out of the Box!
NMWA’s biennial “Out of the Box Show and Auction” is one of the museum’s 
best-loved events. This year, the show and sale takes place Friday, June 12 and includes over 115 creatively altered boxes by regionally and nationally acclaimed artists. Prices have typically ranged from an affordable $25 to $4,000 and more. Proceeds support the Museum’s adult and youth education programs.
Each box is unique, and artists are invited to work in any medium as long as the work retains its function as a box. The box artworks will be auctioned by auctioneer Jim Loose, and the evening’s M.C. is KMTN’s “Fish.” Of course, there are door prizes: two CityPass books, a two-hour art appraisal by Art Appraisals of Jackson Hole, LLC, two bird-themed notions boxes and a tour of the newly opened Jackson Hole Raptor Center with guide Roger Smith.
Volunteer Chair Ann Nelson notes the event is a labor of love, with 15 volunteers devoting much of the last two years organizing the show. “The community of Jackson Hole anticipates Out of the Box with great enthusiasm; this show will have something for everyone,” says Nelson.
Out of the Box is free for museum members, $7 for non-members; free for children. Event admission includes light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. 733-5771.
#3: Wyoming 2009 Junior Duck Stamp Winners!
Through August 23, take time to visit this year’s entries and winners of the Wyoming Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Now in its 15th year, this exceptional program, a national art competition for students in grades K – 12 simultaneously teaches art, conservation of wetlands and natural resources, and awareness skills.
The exhibit is traditionally on display in the Museum’s King Gallery; check with the front desk to confirm. The list of winners is long, and every entry is a winner in itself.
The following information on is provided by the Museum.
Eighteen year-old Bryant Helm, of Cokeville, Wyoming, received the 2009 Best of Show award for his painting, “Provocative.” His oil painting depicts a striking portrait of a Long-tailed Duck. Bryant’s painting represented Wyoming at the Federal Jr. Duck Stamp contest Wednesday, April 22, 2009, at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. The winner of the national competition will receive $5,000, a trip to our nation’s capital along with a parent and the art teacher, and have his or her artwork used to make the 2009-2010 Junior Duck Stamp. Proceeds from the sale of the Junior Duck Stamps, which cost $5.00, support conservation education.
Baily Schupp, a eight year-old student from Pinedale, for the second year in a row, won the 2009 Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award for the best art in the youngest age group. The Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award was established eight years ago to recognize the artistic accomplishment of students in the K-3rd grade age group and to honor the late Betty Nelson, a generous supporter of the Junior Duck Stamp program.
The 1st through 3rd place Wyoming winners of the Jr. Duck Stamp contest can be viewed online on the Museum’s web site, WildlifeArt.org. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place contest winners will be honored at a dinner and awards ceremony at the National Museum of Wildlife Art on Saturday July 18, 2009.
For more information, please contact Amy Goicoechea at (307) 732-5435.
Where is the Spiral Jetty, perhaps the most famous land art sculpture, located?
The Great Salt Lake.
You probably knew that.
The Jetty is immediately identifiable with Utah’s Great Salt Lake, a memorable icon with a very positive connotation. We connect forward-thinking creativity and environmentalism with this significant earth art.
The jetty is a giant earth logo.
The concept of Land Art appeared in the U.S. ..in the 60′s! Of course. In its purest sense earth is linked to the creative process, and becomes the art. Land art can erode over time, be ephemeral, and leave us with only the memory of the work. Made entirely of earth elements, land art is truly sustainable because no matter how long it survives or transforms, no ecological harm is done.
Sculpture gardens are more permanent outdoor projects; they also create a strong, identifiable sense of place. Google ‘sculpture gardens’ and one of the first items you’ll come across is the Sculpture Parks and Gardens Directory, provided by the International Sculpture Center. The directory displays an emerald world map, and countries with notable sculpture gardens are indicated. I clicked on USA, and up popped a map of the United States. States with documented sculpture gardens had a yellow dot hovering o’er.
The map seems to indicate Jackson Hole, Wyoming has a world-renowned sculpture garden! A yellow dot floats above Wyoming’s upper left corner. Click on that, however, and a link Colorado’s Museum of Outdoor Arts window opens.
MOA’s history vitae page tells us that the non-profit is a “…synthesis of fine art, architecture, and landscape design integrated into the community and business environment. It is fully accessible to the public, exemplifying the belief that “art is a part of everyday life.”
Utilizing a One-Percent-for-Art program–Seattle’s program is a prominent example–the organization’s founders purchased commissioned art for site-specific projects.
Our town of Jackson seems a good place to create a stronger sense of place through incorporating new public placemaking art that is accessible to visitors and residents, and that interprets traditional themes and values in contemporary ways. Outdoor art allows everyone to take it in on their own terms. Yes, we’re in a recession. What better time to re-think our downtown and what it might offer to us, and to visitors?
Oh, I LOVE this. This is a story about Vertical Gardens. The Art of Green. Green urban gardens. Happy Earth Week, Jackson Hole! The photo above is from Vertical Garden’s Exit Art website.
Vertical Gardens is “…an exhibition of architectural models, renderings, drawings, photographs and ephemera that depict or imagine a vertical farm, urban garden or green roof.”
Imagine Jackson’s new downtown garage transformed as a vertical garden. A vertical forest, a vision of vines! Imagine it surrounded with indigenous wildflowers and plants, an ever-changing public art installation, transforming itself with every season. Wow.
Vertical Gardens encompasses over 20 projects by “…artists and architects that 
envision solutions for building greener urban environments.” Cities all around the world are finding ways to include gardens in their planning, knowing the urban aesthetic will increase a hundred fold. They’re great ways to feed and inspire urban dwellers, and since Jackson’s downtown is bent on adding multi-million dollar commercial and residential spaces, how about including green gardens in the design? Provide space for sustaining, aesthetic projects in every development and pay it back, pay it forward to the community. And bring our town’s profile up to new age marketing snuff while you’re at it! Bring the region’s great beauty right past the city line and into…town’s heart.
Here’s more from their site:
“Largely based on the principles of hydroponics, vertical gardens would also be mostly self-sustaining because they would capture large amounts of natural sunlight and water, and could use wind as an energy source. In a country where cities are suffocated by high rises, cement and industrial materials, where can green space exist? As this exhibition demonstrates, one possible answer is “up.” These and other urban parks and gardens provide areas for socialization and recreation; a location for a city farm or community land-trust; an outlet through which hundreds of people can learn about farming and agriculture; and the addition of much needed plant and animal life to the otherwise concrete jungle.”
Vertical Gardens is a project of SEA (Social Environmental Aesthetics) , which is an off shoot of Exit Art, which “…is an independent vision of contemporary culture prepared to react immediately to important issues that affect our lives.” The New York City center, 25 years old, engages in “…experimental, historical and unique presentations of aesthetic, social, political and environmental issues.” Exit Art says it “absorbs cultural differences that become prototype exhibitions,” and embraces multiple disciplines. Starting as a ‘grass roots’ project, it has grown into a contemporary green, artistic powerhouse. Always changing, it is now internationally recognized for its innovations, curatorial depth, media savvy and stick-to-it-ness.
Few endeavors build community like gardening. And few activities provide the 
warm sense of well-being that gardening does. Win. Win again. If we incorporate the Verticle Garden vision into ours, we won’t be able to take our eyes off the results.
A couple of time zones away from Jackson Hole–it seems light years away–in Hartford, Connecticut, Aid To Artisans (ATA) has worked for decades to create opportunities for third world artisans. ATA provides small grants that go a long way towards educating artisans and crafts people in poverty-stricken regions, while keeping cultures intact. ATA helps these creative enclaves bring their goods to the American market. Once an artisan has established a relationship with a U.S. vendor, ATA steps back, allowing infrastructure to develop and the artisan to sustain its own business initiatives. 
ATA is passionate about all cultural traditions and makes sure environmentally sound practices are followed. ATA says it recognizes it can “…can only bring lasting economic growth if (it can) provide an integrated approach to product development, business skills training, market access and eco-effective processes.”
For 33 years, ATA has provided mentoring in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Asia. I’m proud to say my mom, Thyrza Christel, contributed years of service to ATA, working in the grants department and travelling solo to Armenia, for a month, in her mid-sixties. The experience changed her life, and the lives of Armenian women working in crafts collectives. Working for ATA and the warm, creative craftspeople around the globe has been one of her life’s great passions.
ATA is offering a Market Readiness Program Aug. 15-19 in New York City; the course coincides with ATA’s annual presence at the New York International Gift Fair. The course offers “…the latest trend and market information offered by industry experts.” Marketing, distribution, design analysis, buyer 
relationships, importing and exporting, strategies, how to prepare your work for export…these topics and more will be explored.
Deadline for registration is July 15. A discount is available for early registration. To learn more, log onto www.aidtoartisans.org. Phone: 860-756-5550.
What can we be to the rest of the world?
Well, each December we can look forward to Didi Thunder Coburn’s annual Christmas Bazaar, a two-day event reminiscent of an old world marketplace. And by purchasing goods and gifts there this year, you can aid those on the other side of the world struggling to survive.
Colorful, aromatic, and loaded with goods imported from the Himalayan region, the Bazaar has become one of our valley’s favorite traditions. 2008’s edition happens Saturday and Sunday, December 13 & 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Many gifts will be priced under $45.
This year’s bazaar features Satya Yoga Jewelry, Tara Knits, furnishings, bronze ware, Nepalese rugs (at recession prices) and more. But perhaps the most meaningful offerings are the handmade necklaces and jewelry made by Eastern Afghans. Sales benefit “Inside Afghanistan,” a non-profit supporting the women and children in that war-torn country, where poverty, disease and starvation are commonplace. “Inside Afghanistan” works to provide sustainable income, establish schools, health care, and to initiate conservation initiatives and reforestation. Lapis lazuli, silver and gemstones have been mined in Afghanistan for 6,000 years.
It’s difficult to overstate this annual holiday tradition’s warmth and spirit. The Wilson Christmas Bazaar is located at the Coburn’s home, 1520 Fish Creek Road. Look for the signs and prayer flags, and bring a friend. For information, email didi@wyoming.com or phone 307-733-4124.
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