When you hear agronomy, what comes to mind? To this writer it sounded like agriculture and economics combined, which isn’t so far off the mark. According to the venerable Wikipedia, agronomics is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber and reclamation. SPACES’ upcoming exhibition, Farmed: the New Agronomists, is a marriage of the science and technology of Cleveland’s local agronomists, and art. The show opens with a reception Fri 5/13 from 6-9PM @ SPACES.
Instead of offering a romanticized, idyllic image of local farming, this exhibition invites artists to address the harsh realities of the economic, genetic and environmental concerns that farmers face each day. Artists in Farmed: the New Agronomists capture themes of daily food production in local farms of all shapes and sizes, from the produce on our plates to the cotton in our t-shirts. The exhibition is also intended to encourage participation and involvement of local food organizations and farmers by engaging them through tours and speaking engagements led by the local farmers and producers as part of the show.
Artists involved in this exciting, timely show include Michael Mercil, who planted The Beanfield, a project in partnership with the Wexner Center for the Arts; the OSU Department of Art Living Cultural Initiative and the Social Responsibility Initiative in the College for Food, Agriculture and Environmental Studies; and Sarah Rabinowitz, the Fibers Coordinator and Visiting Professor in the Fibers Department at the University of Oregon will also be represented. Rabinowitz, who has been raising silkworms and humanely harvesting their silk for her practice, centers her work around fibers and weaving as a means to and metaphor for social interaction.
Nannette Yannuzzi-Macias is also on board for the show. Collaborating with many artists and writers who share concerns and interest in art, the environment, labor and value, she has been working on gathering intimate details of daily life as an artist and mother. From collecting her own washing machine lint, to her son’s and daughter’s nail clippings, she has created daily drawings produced within a finite period of days all the while obtaining an audio feed from a recorder worn at her wait as she went about her work (Audio Days, 2000). She has also compiled time-based images over several months from two stationary cameras positioned within her home (Video Days, 2000).
Turkish-born media artist and designer Arzu Ozkal’s work may be grouped under the interpretation of body and its relationship to the environment as she attempts to emancipate the body from social and culture norms, suggesting ways to distance one’s self from the societal limits imposed by totalitarian establishments. Amy Youngs’ biological art, interactive sculptures and digital media rounds off the exhibition with works that explore the complex relationship between technology and the changing concept of nature and self. She has published several essays including one on genetic art. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at The Ohio State University.
Farmed: the New Agronomists opens Fri 5/13 at 6:00 p.m. @ SPACES and runs through Sun 7/10. SPACES is located at 2220 Superior Viaduct in Cleveland. The show will run through Sun 7/10, and the gallery’s normal hours are Tues through Sun, 12 – 5PM and until 8PM on Thurs. Admission and parking during regular gallery hours is free and open to the public. For more information about the show, visit http://SPACESgallery.org, or call 216.621.2314.
[Photo credit: Amy Youngs, Building a Rainbow (sketch), 2011, digital image.]
Julie Cajigas is a Cleveland girl who grew up on the East & West Side and now lives near Akron – she’s got the whole town covered. Cajigas holds degrees in Communication & Music from Cleveland State University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Communication at CSU.