Between the Glacier and the Sea (winter 2023)
art and science photography workshop
In collaboration with climate scientist Dr. Karina Yager
Supported by the Andy Warhol Preserve Visual Arts Program of the The Nature Conservancy
Location: Montauk Public Library and the nearby Warhol Preserve
Each year, The Andy Warhol Preserve Visual Arts Program invites artists to design and produce public art workshops that celebrate the unique qualities of the ecologically significant Montauk Moorlands. We were eager to share our commitment to protecting the natural environment and our passion for using photography as both an artistic and scientific medium. Dr. Yager’s scientific data is visual including photographs of glaciers and alpine biodiversity through time beginning with historical photographs taken in the 1930s. During the workshop, I introduced my artistic practice and shared the ways my scientific background in the biological sciences continues to inspire and inform my artmaking. We presented the work of other artists, scientists, and poets whose work engages the natural world.
Our workshop offered a hybrid program of presentations, field work, photographic exploration, and…cyanotype making! We wanted to ‘bring to light’ the work of pioneering English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins who created the first book illustrated with botanicals using the cyanotype technique (Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, 1843). We had a wonderfully diverse group of participants (environmental scientists, teachers, artists, and lovers of the natural world). Our group was actively engaged in the workshop, with many questions and inquiries about creative expression, glacial history, and the geological landscape of the area. We came away from this experience inspired and excited for future collaborations.
