The YES Charter Academy Presents Student Earth Art at the Burrows Center
Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture and the Yuba Environmental Science (YES) Charter Academy are proud to present an interactive show of student art-in-nature during the month of May. A free opening reception will be held in the Gallery at the Burrows Center for the Arts, 624 E Street in Marysville from 5-7pm on Friday May 12. Refreshments will be served. The show will feature photographs of artworks created by students from materials found on site in nature. Some of these natural materials will be brought to the gallery for guests to experience nature assemblage firsthand. Additionally, songs of nature recorded at the pond on campus will complete the show experience.
Providing opportunities for young people to connect with nature is integral to the mission and philosophy at YES Charter Academy. This Earth Art project has engaged student interaction with nature on new levels. An introduction to the Earth Art movement and world class artists such as Andy Goldsworthy has given students a new conceptual framework for understanding art permanence and creative interaction with nature.
Classes, individuals, and small teams of student artists explore the 10-acre campus looking for location inspiration to create their unique Earth Art piece. Places that have been passed many times are seen through a new lens when looked upon as potential sites for Earth Art. Students survey the landscape before choosing their own creation location. The next step in the Earth Art making process is the collection of materials. Again, student perception of the natural world shifts when young artists assess what and how natural items could be utilized. Special attention is paid to color and texture. All the materials are collaboratively collected from nature by students.
When student artists merge their materials with their chosen nature site the creation process unfolds in a frenzy of action. Some students crouch low with detailed orientation to their art while others sling garden tools to make their artistic vision take shape. Whether working independently or in self-managed teams the students become increasingly inspired as their Earth Art work takes shape. They are motivated through the creative process and each other. It is especially exciting when works are photographed and shared collectively through class critiques. When works are revisited days later, natural changes have often occurred.
Collaboration, art inquiry and heightened environmental awareness make Earth Art a unique and profound way for youth to connect meaningfully with nature. The impermanence of art-in-nature gives students an experience of Zen, engaging both philosophical and aesthetic reflection. Youth Art in Nature is a temporary and ephemeral art experience that can be shared through documentation and presentation of photography.
Help celebrate this very unique student art show by attending the reception on May 12.