Bartalos

Long View Study No. 16 is inspired by Earth observation satellites whose remote sensing technology helps scientists monitor environmental changes over time. In Antarctica, the focus is on the break-up of the Peninsula’s ice shelves as a result of rapid warming in that area over the last 50 years. Read more about satellites’ role in climate study and polar research on my latest CalAcademy blog post.

The artwork was created with cut paper, graphite and wood. It will be on view and available at Southern Exposure’s Annual Fundraiser and Art Auction this Saturday evening, May 7 at SoEx, 3030 20th Street in San Francisco.

I’m pleased to be included in the book Cutting Edges: Contemporary Collage, published recently by Gestalten. The volume was edited by artist James Gallagher who curated the ‘Cutters’ series of exhibitions in New York, Berlin, and Cork, Ireland over the past three years.

The full-color hardback book features works from more than 75 international artists, over half of whom participated in the recent Cork show. The contributors are represented by multiple examples of their work for a stylistically and technically diverse collection ranging from manual assemblage to computer montage.

The introductory essay by curator Dr. Silke Krohn puts the current practice of collage into an art-historical context while many of the works themselves (including mine) allude to Surreal-ism, Dada and Constructivism. These references add a pleasant whiff of nostalgia to the book but more importantly, they’re shown to be the means by which artists re-examine the collage tradition in order to find departure points for fresh innovation.

In this way, the book reveals modern collage to be as much an appropriation of concept and intent as it is of material. Or rather, a re-invention of concept and intent, given the impres-sively original results.

My interior spread in Cutting Edges.

This 224-page compendium reminded me of why I love collage: It offers creative flexibility, spontaneity, unpredictability and possibility like no other medium. The process is unique, liberating and expressive. It functions across multiple disciplines and perennially evolves as it feeds on old and new sources alike.

I was excited to read a review of Cutting Edges on the Design Observer OBlog by graphic designer Jessica Helfand, the Yale art lecturer and author of Scrapbooks: An American History. Her post’s insights about collage as art form and about Cutting Edges concludes with the statement: “This book is a knock-out.” I concur.

Handle With Care is my latest project with the California Academy of Sciences. Completed last Thursday in the museum’s Piazza, it takes the form of a 16-foot high cardboard tree populated by cardboard animals representing a variety of species threatened by deforest-ation.

The objective of the Earth Day-themed project is to promote the protection of forested ecosystems worldwide and to inspire museum visitors to re-use and recycle paper in creative ways.

The sculpture was constructed over a three week period with the help of many generous volunteers and assistants, and by museum staff who donated much of the cardboard.

Visitors were also invited to bring paper with which they created leaves for the tree at tables set up alongside my work area. Participation was overwhelming with over 3,000 leaves made, mostly by children.

Handle With Care was unveiled at the CalAcademy’s April 21 NightLife event to great response and remains on view in the museum’s Piazza through April 29.

The tree will be recycled afterwards and the animals will be available for purchase. The leaves, creatively embellished with Earth Day drawings and messages, will be retained by the CalAcademy.

This collection of Instagram and ShakeIt photos by Lili Ong documents some highlights of the project’s process.

My thanks to the CalAcademy and everyone who made this project possible.

The California Academy of Sciences is at 55 Music Concourse Drive in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. (415) 379-8000. Visitor info here.

My latest Long View composition is about climate change research in Antarctica. It references scientists’ efforts to better understand global warming and attempt predictions despite an inexact science. Read all about it on my Antarctic project blog hosted by the California Academy of Sciences.