Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Workshop: Environmental Humanities at Black Mountain College : Ray Johnson + Rivers, Hazel Larsen Archer + Trees, Jonathan Williams + Bluets, Stan VanDerBeek + Willow Reeds + Making John Cage’s Mud Pies

Environmental Humanities at Black Mountain College: 

Ray Johnson + Rivers, Hazel Larsen Archer + Trees, Jonathan Williams + Bluets, Stan VanDerBeek + Willow Reeds + Making John Cage’s Mud Pies

Saturday, September 20, 2019
ReViewing Black Mountain College 11

While art was at the center of the curriculum at Black Mountain College I offer that nature and experiences outdoor were also part of the curriculum there. When interviewed it was sometimes hard for people to put into words the effect of the landscape on them, however their experience of being outdoors, and the varied ways in which they were exposed to natural materials, can be found in their work. For this presentation I shared examples found in the work of five of the College’s artists: Ray Johnson, Hazel Larsen Archer Jonathan Williams, Stan VanDerBeek, and John Cage. 

My talk ended with an invitation to make Mud Pies, after a collaborative reading of John Cage’s and Lois Long’s Mud Book

My hope is that this discussion, and multisensory experience, offers us opportunities to connect to Black Mountain College through natural experiences.