By Heather Fabritze
Elm Staff Writer
Kohl Gallery’s most recent art exhibition, PRY, opened on Tuesday, Jan. 25 with an installation in the Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts and a sister installation outside the Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall on the public walking path.
The exhibition, which will close on March 4, was created by artist and poet Stephanie Garon with Chestertown in mind. The project was funded by the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance and is a collaboration between Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society, River and Field Campus, and Kohl Gallery.
PRY is entirely modeled around the invasive plant species Phragmites australis, more often known as common reed, and the danger it poses to the local environment.
According to the informational pamphlet for the exhibit, the species has a rhizomatic root system that makes them difficult to remove or control.
The root system is featured prominently in the piece. As the pamphlet describes, the severed roots “hover above the ground in clear view” while “plumes endeavor to breach the gallery ceiling.” Purposefully placed lighting allows for shadows of the plants to be cast on the walls.
There is also a written element to the exhibit, with a poem that Garon wrote herself printed on the wall.
Director and Curator for Kohl Gallery and Lecturer in Studio Art Tara Gladden said she believes that all of these elements combined make the exhibit enveloping.
“This is an immersive site-specific installation,” Gladden said. “So, there’s this element of immersion in the space where you’re walking into an environment. The environment plays a video, the environment includes the plant species and the arrangement of the plants…So, you’re being engaged on a visual level, on a sonic level, on a visceral level, on a more poetic level. You’re being engaged on a lot of different levels of perception.”
The video portion of the exhibit features clips that were taken during Garon’s field work. To create the piece, Garon pried the plants out of the Chester riverbank to be used in the exhibit.
According to the pamphlet, this process was important to her, as it “acts as a profound reminder of how the burden of the environmental crisis falls disproportionately on the shoulders of women worldwide.” Many of Garon’s other works also comment on women’s involvement in the environmental crisis.
In addition, there was a large community element to the project. The Kohl Gallery held workshops over the past year that allowed WC students and Chestertown residents to participate in the removal of the plant.
The sister installation at Semans-Griswold is an echo of the exhibit in Kohl Gallery. The public structure is made of steel but is integrated with the reeds in the environment surrounding it.
Gladden feels that the natural movement of the steel reeds conveys matching themes and messages.
“They sway with the wind and they look very natural, and yet they’re added to the land by the artist,” Gladden said. “So, it’s kind of interesting, also, to think about removing something and also adding something.”
According to the pamphlet, the reeds are intended to serve as a reminder of “humanity’s hubris” and “nature’s fragile intractability.”
One lesson that Gladden hopes visitors will take from PRY is the idea that one must think closely about their actions.
“A greater awareness of our impact on the environment, our human relationship with the environment, how we are part of the environment, and also an appreciation for how art can address topics such as ecology, and the environment, and permanence, and impermanence in an interdisciplinary manner,” Gladden said. “The power of art to explore different kinds of topics and the breadth of art to explore different topics in creative ways that are very unique to each individual.”
Those interested in viewing the exhibit can find the visiting hours for Kohl Gallery on the WC website. Garon will also be hosting an artist talk followed by a gallery viewing on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. in Tawes Theatre in the Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts. More information about her work can be found on her website, www.garonstudio.com.
Photo by Kayla Thornton
Featured Photo Caption: Kohl Gallery presents the PRY exhibit which opened on Jan. 25 in two different locations on the Washington College campus. Part of the installation is located in the Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts and the other is outside the Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall. The exhibit focuses closely on the invasive plant species Phragmites australis.