Aug. 28 – Nov. 14 — MANCHESTER — Our Tangled Choices: Art and the Environment will be on view in SVAC’s Elizabeth de C. Wilson Museum from Aug.28 through Nov. 14. We will celebrate the opening of the exhibition with a reception on Aug. 28 from 3-5 p.m.
‘Skydancers’ by Pat Musick
Our Tangled Choices: Art and the Environment brings together two prominent artists, Pat Musick and Michelle Lougee, whose work explores the fragility of our planet and, by extension, the choices humans make, both consciously and unconsciously, that impact the health of the earth.
Pat Musick is a contemporary American artist whose work, for over 50 years, has reflected upon our natural environment. She holds Master of Art and PhD degrees from Cornell University. Musick is the author of five books on art and the subject of a soon-to-be released documentary film, “The Artist and the Astronaut,” co-starring with her late husband, NASA astronaut Gerald P. Carr, commander of Skylab 4. Carr also collaborated with Musick for the past 20 years. He served as engineer and fabricator, and often provided inspiration for the works.
‘Capsule’ by Michelle Lougee
Michelle Lougee is a fiber artist, sculptor and ceramist. Her work addresses the impact of our consumer society on nature through transforming trash, specifically single-use plastic, into art. Lougee is a member of the Boston Sculptors Gallery and her artwork has been shown at Kunstverein Tiergarten in Berlin, Convento de Santo Domingo Qorikancha in Cusco, Peru, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Art Complex Museum, and the Trustman Gallery at Simmons College.
This exhibition also features the voices of 11 community contributors, whose personal and professional lives are interconnected with the natural world. Sharing memories, musings, and observations, their responses open up multiple ways of understanding Musick and Lougee’s work. The community members who worked on this exhibition are Willa Bryant, Martha Carey, Rachel Coffield, James Crews, Alice Gilborn, Tina Hartell, Peter Hetko, Kathleen James, Bonnie Levis, Matt Proft, and Els van Woert. Environmental writer Megan Mahew Bergman, who also lives locally, led a writing workshop for the group.
