Concept Studio II/III: Live Matter--Artists & Gardens

Art
Michelle Illuminato & Carol Kumata
Spring 05

Live matter is a studio art class that will examine the use of botanical matter in contemporary art.  Topics to be covered include:

o History of the Garden - from Eden to now
o Landscapers and Bush Pushers - landscape architecture
o The Living and the Dead ? the public garden in cemeteries and parks
o Plant Imperialism - collections and the conservatory movement
o Fantasy Spaces - follies, grottoes, and theme parks
o Artists Gardens - from Monet to Meg Webster
o The green movement -  from Beuys to Harrison’s
o The Human Touch: From hybrid to genetic splicing
o Live Matter as Medium - Koons, Chin, Denes, and more!

Students will create works using live matter, propose garden projects, make works that will be sited in green spaces, and learn how  to grow their own materials.  The class may  extend their work out into Pittsburgh through a final exhibition at Phipps, Pittsburgh Zoo or the Aviary. Class schedules will include visiting artist lectures and field trips as well as attendance at the symposium, No Stone Left Unturned: Artists + Gardens with Robert Irwin, Mel Bochner, Michael Van Valkenburgh, John Dixon Hunt, Valerie Smith, Julie Bargmann and Meg Webster.