Signal Fire and Oregon College of Art and Craft invite you to experience a new kind of studio: the walls are ancient redwoods, the floor is a carpet of wildflowers, and the ceiling is a canopy of endless stars. We think it just might change your art, and your life.
Wide Open Studios’ most ambitious and transformative course takes place this year in the Klamath- Siskiyou region along the Oregon-California border. The Klamath is a zone of great mystery and unparalleled biotic diversity. Why do flower species from Pacific Islands appear at the top of these ancient mountains? How can nearly 40 different species of conifer thrive in the same area? And what about all those Bigfoot sightings?
We will dive headlong into these mysteries (and the numerous rivers that course through this range). Our course material includes an introduction to Klamath’s ecological “knot” as well as the human history and current political landscape of a place that sees very different communities cooperating to solve conflicts over resources and even advocate for independence from the United States. We will visit existing wilderness areas and— in the spirit of our 2015 Future Wild theme— see unprotected wild areas, parsing the idea of wilderness from its political shape.
This class combines practical instruction on backcountry travel with a series of art projects and readings designed to illuminate the possibilities of making art in, and in response to, remote natural landscapes. The structure of the course is immersive: students will travel together for the duration, embarking on a sequence of backpacking and camping trips separated by brief resupply stops. Through a suite of individual and collaborative projects in various media, students will explore and actualize the potential for relocating their studio practice, working ‘on site’ and far from civilization. Readings, discussions, and visiting scholars will invite students to consider the rich natural and human histories of the region and weigh various perspectives on an artist's role as it relates to wilderness and wildness.
This is not a course in survivalism, but will impart the basic skills of preparation and self-sufficiency for safe and ethical wilderness living using the tenets of 'leave-no-trace.' Students will complete a significant self-directed project, combining course content with research from the 'frontcountry.' The class will culminate in a 36-hour ‘solo,’ a period of stillness and solitude for self-reflection.
A month in the wild can empower and revitalize your creative life and sense of self like nothing else. Won’t you join us?
Participants: Ekin Balcioglu, Madeleine Barbier, James Fink, Christiana Hedlund, Alexis Hogan, Alexandra McManamon, Laurie Sumiye, Shir Yeffet
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