UN Program Director News and Updates 2022
2022 is clearly going to be another highly challenging year at the UN. (Not that all years aren’t challenging.) Like all institutions of responsibility and integrity, the UN is grappling with the pandemic, the climate crisis, and the threats to democracy and human rights around the world. They also need to re-assess their power to have significant impact in the political arena. Many of the once vibrant and stable programs are pared down or suspended in order to consolidate and work on the most crucial issues. And the NGO leadership is shifting, with the civil society programs being increased and revised significantly. As a result of all of this re-focusing, the activities available to NGO’s are mostly curtailed at present. The Commission on the Status of Women will again this year be virtual. After participating in the online conference last year, it was evident that the power of the CSW lies in the coming together of thousands of wildly enthusiastic women activists from around the world who share their experiences with each other. The virtual was flat and dull. I do not anticipate a large turnout from WCA. Looking forward to in-person events in the future. Also, because of all the uncertainty this year, I have decided that the WCA/Youth Representative activities will be suspended again in 2022. There will be fewer offerings for the young students and putting their health at risk is not worth it. So I see this year as a quiet time for the UN Program. It is very likely that in 2023 there will be a thunderous return of NGO’s, ready to take on the tasks ahead. All of us involved in the UN are so grateful for the strong, dynamic, unwavering and visionary leadership of Antonio Guterres.
I encourage WCA artists to share with us their ongoing exhibitions and projects which support UN platforms. Work will be posted here.
Maureen Burns-Bowie
Update #1
The activities of the UN Program are firmly rooted in two significant platforms -- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's.) Anyone who is an activist can find their areas of concern clearly articulated in these documents. It is educating and highly inspiring to periodically review them.
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
Update #2
Countries worldwide are exploring the possibility of enacting new legislation affirming the rights of Nature. Ecuador was the first. In 2008 they ruled that Pachamama (Mother Earth) had the right to "maintain and regenerate its cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes."
New Zealand, Columbia, India, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Peru, and Pakistan have passed laws affirming legal personhood to nature. It will take time for this sort of defense to gain traction, but it is encouraging.
Update #3
WOMEN'S EARTH AND CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK
"Kayapo women have always been fighting...from us resistance is born. From us come men, children life. The woman completes herself with nature, and we have always been part of the resistance along with the men."
In Brazil, Indigenous women are leading frontline efforts to protect the Amazon and Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Despite mounting threats and risk, across the Amazon Indigenous women leaders are banding together for the communities and our global climate -- stand with Indigenous Women Environmental and Rights Defenders!
"Kayapo women have always been fighting...from us resistance is born. From us come men, children life. The woman completes herself with nature, and we have always been part of the resistance along with the men."
In Brazil, Indigenous women are leading frontline efforts to protect the Amazon and Indigenous rights and sovereignty. Despite mounting threats and risk, across the Amazon Indigenous women leaders are banding together for the communities and our global climate -- stand with Indigenous Women Environmental and Rights Defenders!
Update #4
Update #5
Two WCA artists, Ann Rosenthal and Aviva Rahmani publish a new eco-book.
Update #6
THE UNRELENTING AGONY OF UKRAINE
"Uniting for Peace" resolution at the General Assembly supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. The resolution won with an overwhelming majority of votes. After the vote was counted, standing applause went on and on. This of course is non-binding since there is no way to enforce such a position. But that is not the job of the UN. The job of the UN is humanitarian -- to reach out to those in need, to resolve issues leading to social progress, and to face off confrontations with diplomacy. The job of the UN is to be a moral force in the world. This vote sends a message to Russia that the world stands with Ukraine. (It has always been important to Russia to be a solid citizen of the UN and to have its approval). Following this action, Russia was also kicked off the Human Rights Commission.
SOFT POWER has an important place in the world. An important concept for activist artists!
"Uniting for Peace" resolution at the General Assembly supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. The resolution won with an overwhelming majority of votes. After the vote was counted, standing applause went on and on. This of course is non-binding since there is no way to enforce such a position. But that is not the job of the UN. The job of the UN is humanitarian -- to reach out to those in need, to resolve issues leading to social progress, and to face off confrontations with diplomacy. The job of the UN is to be a moral force in the world. This vote sends a message to Russia that the world stands with Ukraine. (It has always been important to Russia to be a solid citizen of the UN and to have its approval). Following this action, Russia was also kicked off the Human Rights Commission.
SOFT POWER has an important place in the world. An important concept for activist artists!
The UN International Court is investigating Putin for war crimes. Isn't anyone who starts war a criminal???
New York Times:
"Tens of thousands of Ukrainians are reportedly being taken to what are being referred to as filtration camps in Russia, where their passports and phones are being taken away, and family members are being separated, the US Ambassador to the UN said.
International Council of Museums is working day and night with UNESCO to protect irreplaceable artwork in Ukraine. "Museums have no borders -- they have a network"
Update #7
Peace and Peaceful Coexistence Festival Africa
Update #8
Marcia Annenberg
Fineberg Family Community Room
As a painter, installation artist, curator and climate activist, M. Annenberg investigates the black holes of American journalism. Has the two minute sound bite failed the American people?
As we bear witness to the slippage of journalism in our time, the problem of the omission of news, especially the sparse reporting of climate studies, is less well understood as a strategy, that prevents civic engagement. In this talk, I will trace the decline of news coverage in the American mainstream press from the 1990’s to the present. Are our oceans acidifying? Are the glaciers melting? Will we breach 1.5 degrees of warming this decade? Is there a climate emergency? If so, why don’t we all know it, beyond a reasonable doubt.
M. Annenberg is a Conceptual artist. Her paintings, sculptures, installations and videos focus on under- reported stories in American media, concentrating on scientific studies and global warming.
Maine Jewish Museum
267 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Sunday through Friday 11am-4pm Closed: Saturdays
Nancy Davidson, Curator in Residence – nancyd.mjm@gmail.com Nanci Kahn, Photography Curator – photography@mainejewishmuseum.org
Update #9
Update #10
UN Secretery General Antonio Guterres visited Ukraine and Moscow. While he was in Kyiv meeting with President Zelensky, the city was bombed by Russian forces. His trip to Moscow followed, and he won some concessions from Vladimir Putin, who agreed to allow a safe corridor for fleeing Ukrainian refugees, permitted access to humanitarian aid, and agreed to diplomatic talks.
Update #11
The film which highlights Gloria Orenstein's relationship with Leonara Carrington, "Gloria's Call" will be shown at the VENICE BIENNALE! The film was produced and created by WCA members, Cheri Gaulke, Cheryl Bookout, Anne Gauldin. PROUD!!!
Gloria is a WCA Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a leading eco-feminist scholar.
(Featured in "Beijing Journal")
https://gloriascall.com/about-gloria/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygxku1yR_jM
https://cherigaulke.com/
http://jcherylbookout.com/....
https://snaccooperative.org/view/1543114
https://www.beijingjournal.online/gloriaorenstein
UPDATE #12
TALES OF A PHOENIX: THE LETTING GO PROJECT
YANA SCHNITZLER HAS CREATED A BEAUTIFUL INTERNATIONAL QUILTED SKIRT EXPRESSING THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF LETTING GO OF THE OLD WITHIN US
TO MAKE WAY FOR A NEW PURITY
Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project is a visual art exhibition and durational performance that harnesses the power of ritual to bring together women from across the world in a unified release of old patterns that no longer serve their personal growth. Over the past two years, women have contributed pieces of fabric inscribed with what they wish to let go of. In a series of meditative performances, I have stitched these testimonies together into a room-filling skirt, representing the global feminine voice. The project will culminate in a ritual dance performance in which I wear the skirt radiating with these women’s collective energy, then publicly destroy the skirt in a powerful symbol of release and letting go, currently scheduled for fall 2023.
The skirt first took shape during a seven-week run at the Chashama gallery in Manhattan's Garment District in spring 2021, in the first days of reemergence from the long months of Covid-related closures. Through a call for contributions on my website as well as various social media outlets, I invited women to send me their statements identifying old habits, memories, beliefs, or fears to be shed, the way a snake sheds the skin it has outgrown. I asked women to send these inscriptions on fabric, or electronically, in which case I transferred them to fabric. Some were written in their mother tongue, some were richly decorated or artistically realized, some were as simple as a single word written in magic marker on a plain piece of fabric. Once in the gallery, I mounted the inscribed fabric on the walls, and over the course of the seven weeks I removed them one by one to first pin and then stitch them together, creating the skirt, on display in the center of the small gallery space. The garment grew over time into a sea of fabric filling the entire space.
I also invited women who visited the gallery to participate, providing them with fabric on which to share what they would release. I was overwhelmed by their responses--so many wanted to participate. Some wanted to talk and share their stories. Some wanted to just write their message on one of the blank scraps of fabric affixed to the sandwich board outside the space, and then leave. Some wanted to come in to see the testimonies from other women. Some entered the space and began to cry. Some stood in silence, soaking up the quiet power of so many unspoken inhibitions, finally ready to be relinquished. Where I had expected a quiet, contemplative experience as an artist alone in the gallery, instead I found I had opened up a portal for a great release. Instead of being a solitary practitioner, I was there to hold space for other women to share. I was surprised and moved by their hunger for this work.
Following this inaugural exhibition, Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project is traveling to exhibitions throughout New York City, to Chicago, the West Coast and Europe for people to experience this sacred object. The work has now been exhibited in New York City at Williamsburg Art & Historical Center in Brooklyn and at Grove 34, store-front gallery in Queens, and in Chicago in the Fiber-Fashion-Feminism exhibition at The Art Center Highland Park. I continue to accept contributions to this ever-growing work, as I have through the past exhibitions; this growth can be traced within the skirt: In some areas, the fabric pieces are still pinned together, in others they are roughly stitched, and in yet others they are fully realized. The coexisting, different stages of the skirt reflect the project’s underlying theme of transformation and the time necessary for change.
The collective nature of the work reveals a solidarity. The skirt shows that we are not alone, as so many of the women's statements echo one another. In sharing them publicly viewers have been empowered just realizing other people feel the way they do. The skirt is now a collection of deeply personal testimonies and an empowering witness and celebration of our interconnectedness as women. In total, I have received around 350 pieces from more than 50 different states and countries around the world. The work creates a tapestry of personal stories from all walks of life and cultures, offering a glimpse where women stand with the struggles they face. The skirt has a profound capacity to touch people that has astonished me. Mark Rifkin of ‘This Week in New York’ called it: “… A terrific installation, so moving and heartfelt and genuine. It's really staying with me.”
I look forward to what is to come.
Tales of a Phoenix: The Letting Go Project is made possible, in part, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Further support was provided by Chashama, Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Grove 34, and The Feminist Art Project. The project has received press coverage from the following publications: BOMB Magazine; Chicago Reader; NewCity Art; This Week In New York; Les Femmes Folles; At Forty Five (Canada); Levante News (Italy); Prima Illevanta (Italy); TeleRadioPage (Italy); Radio Aldebaran (Italy); and Radio Martí (US/Cuba).
UPDATE #13
CARTER BURDEN GALLERY ANNOUNCES A NEW EXHIBITION
FEATURING NEW WORK BY TRAILBLAZING WOMEN ARTISTS OF THE 70’S
October 13-November 9, 2022
PLACE: Carter Burden Gallery 548 West 28th Street, #534 New York, NY 10001
Carter Burden Gallery presents The Difference We’ve Made, featuring new work by twenty- three women artists active and successful in New York City’s art world in the 1970’s. This exhibition is curated by Cynthia Mailman, Vernita Nemec, and Susan Grabel, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with essays by Ellen Lubell and Andrew Hottle. The exhibition runs from October 13 – November 9, 2022. The opening reception will be on Thursday, October 13 from 5-8pm; masks are mandatory. Events accompanying the show include A Night of Performances with Vernita Nemec, Kazuko Miyamoto, and Toki Ozaki, as well as Linda Montano on Thursday, October 20 at 7pm, and Meet the Artists on Saturday, November 5 at 2pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The Difference We’ve Made highlights the work of Dotty Attie, Nancy Azara, Josely Carvalho, Maureen Connor, Betsy Damon, Carol Goebel, Janet Goldner, Susan Grabel, Carol Hamoy, Janet Olivia Henry, Lucy Hodgson, Joyce Kozloff, Cynthia Mailman, Carol Massa, Dindga McCannon, Juanita McNeely, Kazuko Miyamoto, Vernita Nemec, Senga Nengudi, Susan Schwalb, Dee Shapiro, Jenny Tango, and Sharon Wybrants. Their work represents the diversity of creative expression with mediums ranging from installation, painting, sculpture, performance, and more. Through their compelling works these talented, feminist, trailblazing artists cleared paths for generations of women. This exhibition illustrates their perseverance in their ongoing creative practice to this day. Marlena
Vaccaro, Director and Curator of Carter Burden Gallery, states, “The Carter Burden Gallery opened in Chelsea in 2009 to meet a need of representation of older professional artists. It is the first of its kind in the nation, exclusively featuring the vibrant and significant works of professional artists over the age of sixty. The women exhibited in this show are the shoulders subsequent women artists have stood and continue to stand on.
It is no secret that older professional artists are often under-recognized by the arts sector and given few opportunities to show and sell their work due to perceived limited marketability and other ageism related factors. This can be especially true of women artists. This dually hinders economic opportunity for older artists, while limiting public access to unique artistic perspectives. The Carter Burden Gallery celebrates this community’s unique contribution and particularly the immense and enduring influence of the pioneering artists in this show. As Maya Angelou said, ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ The outstanding artists in this show made future generations of women artists feel they could do it, feel they could be part of the important work being done, and know they would be leaders in the conversations that would shape the art world.”
FEATURING NEW WORK BY TRAILBLAZING WOMEN ARTISTS OF THE 70’S
October 13-November 9, 2022
PLACE: Carter Burden Gallery 548 West 28th Street, #534 New York, NY 10001
Carter Burden Gallery presents The Difference We’ve Made, featuring new work by twenty- three women artists active and successful in New York City’s art world in the 1970’s. This exhibition is curated by Cynthia Mailman, Vernita Nemec, and Susan Grabel, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with essays by Ellen Lubell and Andrew Hottle. The exhibition runs from October 13 – November 9, 2022. The opening reception will be on Thursday, October 13 from 5-8pm; masks are mandatory. Events accompanying the show include A Night of Performances with Vernita Nemec, Kazuko Miyamoto, and Toki Ozaki, as well as Linda Montano on Thursday, October 20 at 7pm, and Meet the Artists on Saturday, November 5 at 2pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The Difference We’ve Made highlights the work of Dotty Attie, Nancy Azara, Josely Carvalho, Maureen Connor, Betsy Damon, Carol Goebel, Janet Goldner, Susan Grabel, Carol Hamoy, Janet Olivia Henry, Lucy Hodgson, Joyce Kozloff, Cynthia Mailman, Carol Massa, Dindga McCannon, Juanita McNeely, Kazuko Miyamoto, Vernita Nemec, Senga Nengudi, Susan Schwalb, Dee Shapiro, Jenny Tango, and Sharon Wybrants. Their work represents the diversity of creative expression with mediums ranging from installation, painting, sculpture, performance, and more. Through their compelling works these talented, feminist, trailblazing artists cleared paths for generations of women. This exhibition illustrates their perseverance in their ongoing creative practice to this day. Marlena
Vaccaro, Director and Curator of Carter Burden Gallery, states, “The Carter Burden Gallery opened in Chelsea in 2009 to meet a need of representation of older professional artists. It is the first of its kind in the nation, exclusively featuring the vibrant and significant works of professional artists over the age of sixty. The women exhibited in this show are the shoulders subsequent women artists have stood and continue to stand on.
It is no secret that older professional artists are often under-recognized by the arts sector and given few opportunities to show and sell their work due to perceived limited marketability and other ageism related factors. This can be especially true of women artists. This dually hinders economic opportunity for older artists, while limiting public access to unique artistic perspectives. The Carter Burden Gallery celebrates this community’s unique contribution and particularly the immense and enduring influence of the pioneering artists in this show. As Maya Angelou said, ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ The outstanding artists in this show made future generations of women artists feel they could do it, feel they could be part of the important work being done, and know they would be leaders in the conversations that would shape the art world.”
UPDATE #14
KATHERINE STEICHEN ROSING at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
TEN THOUSAND BEINGS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13 – November 3, 2022, OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
Visualizing the vital role of forests and watersheds for climate
In her solo exhibition Ten Thousand Beings, artist Katherine Steichen Rosing examines invisible forces and connections between forests, watersheds, and climate, through vividly-hued paintings and a multimedia immersive installation at the Alan Priebe Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The world is learning how crucial trees are for humanity. New research published in Nature Climate Change, found that forests absorb twice as much carbon as they emit each year. We often think of the carbon mass of a tree, but fifty percent of the average tree is water. Within wetlands, forests play a critical role in preventing flooding, controlling erosion, and regulating local rainfall through respiration from the leaves. Despite their significance, forests are endangered.
Rosing’s richly colored semi-abstract paintings and her large-scale installation Entanglements, incorporating water samples from nearby Lake Winnebago and the Fox River explore the multitude of connections within forested watersheds; celebrating and advocating the preservation of these wild places.
Ten Thousand Beings will run from October 13 to November 3, 2022, in the Alan Priebe Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 13, 6 – 7:30 pm, preceded by an artist’s talk at 5 pm (room S149 in the Arts and Communications Center).
“Katherine Steichen Rosing creates vibrant and engaging imagery that transforms the gallery space into an immersive environment” asserts Leslie Walfish, curator of the exhibition and Director of Galleries & Campus Curator, and Instructor in the Art Department.
“Forest are my lens to the world”
Rosing’s work is influenced by a lifetime of exploring the forests and lakes of Northern Wisconsin and the Lake Superior Region. “I have a profound relationship with Northern ecosystems and the forests and the clear glacial lakes they envelop. My studio practice is deeply informed by my experiences in the wilderness, experimentation in the studio, and environmental reports,” says the artist.
Prolonged childhood camping trips to remote areas where her family camped in tents without electricity or running water, sparked a lifetime of wilderness experiences. Katherine remembers swimming and fishing with her family. “At that time eagles were nearly extinct, but it was safe to eat the fish. Eagles are now flourishing due in part to bans on DDT – but the fish are filled with mercury from coal-fired power plants, and forests are burning.”
A multimedia immersive exhibition probing the dichotomy between environmental anxiety and the exuberance of natural experiences
The exhibition title, Ten Thousand Beings, loosely references the Taoist concept of ten thousand things, as Rosing contemplates the infinite connections within ecosystems from microscopic larvae to the shimmering waters and fluttering leaves of the visible realm.
The exhibition features paintings from Rosing’s newest body of work, Water Shields and Damselflies, inspired by recent artist residencies, along with several earlier large-scale forest paintings, and a new multimedia installation titled Entanglements.
Her paintings are developed in numerous layers. She explains, “I often draw or scratch into wet paint, overpainting in many additional layers that may obscure the original marks. These implanted inscriptions reference invisible processes and life forms, creating a complex encrusted surface.”
The Entanglements installation is monochrome and feels almost drained of life, creating a strong contrast with the vividly colored paintings on the surrounding walls that celebrate the vigor and persistence of life.”The dichotomy between the paintings and my installations reflects the paradoxes of my daily experience – I am anxious about the looming threats to these ecosystems, but the moment I step outside and experience the natural world around me I rejoice.”
The installation creates a nearly forest-scale environment that encourages viewers to walk through the spaces, offering a reflective experience to consider ecological issues.
Entering the gallery, visitors hear flowing water, frog song, and human voices while encountering the central suspended sculpture “Mother Tree with Lichen.” The delicate white sculpture suggests the fragility of forest ecosystems. It is hand-stitched from translucent fabric and embellished with lichen-like painted lace. “I choose materials for the installations that are lightweight, accessible, and durable so that I can repurpose, reconfigure, and store them compactly,” she shares.
The large fabric tree sculpture is surrounded by 40,000 feet of sisal twine entangled on the floor and inserted into various glass containers placed almost ritually within the tangles, with water from nearby Lake Winnebago, the largest lake in Wisconsin, and the Fox River.
Envisioning the infinite connections within ecosystems
While planting new trees can play a role in mitigating climate change, data show that forests planted in the past 20 years represent less than 5% of the current global forest carbon sink. In addition to carbon sequestration, the roles forests play in regulating local rainfall and reducing flooding makes the protection of existing forests critical for climate mitigation.
With Ten Thousand Beings, Rosing hopes to increase awareness about connections not only between forests and lakes, but also the infinite relationships between even the most minuscule creatures and their roles within ecosystems. “When I try to understand the world, I imagine what invisible things might look like and all these tiny things are connected. I play with these ideas using shape to create visual rhythms and use color and texture to suggest hidden energies. I hope that my work inspires others to imagine and care about the complexities in the natural world that we are part of,” Rosing says.
About Katherine Steichen Rosing
Rosing's paintings and drawings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad, including Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Tokyo, and Beijing. Her work is included in public and private collections internationally, including the State of Wisconsin Collection. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the City of Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board. Furthering her environmental research, she was awarded artist residencies at the UW-Madison Department of Limnology’s Trout Lake Research Station and the St. Croix Watershed Research Station sponsored by the Science Museum of Minnesota.
A long-time arts educator, Rosing taught college art courses in the Chicago area and Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives and maintains her studio. Born and raised in Appleton (WI), Rosing earned a BA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BFA at the University of Colorado-Denver, and an MFA at Northern Illinois University. Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis represents her work.
Alan Priebe Gallery
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Arts & Communications Center, First floor, N102
1001 Elmwood, Oshkosh, WI 54901
October 13 – November 3, 2022, OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
Visualizing the vital role of forests and watersheds for climate
In her solo exhibition Ten Thousand Beings, artist Katherine Steichen Rosing examines invisible forces and connections between forests, watersheds, and climate, through vividly-hued paintings and a multimedia immersive installation at the Alan Priebe Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
The world is learning how crucial trees are for humanity. New research published in Nature Climate Change, found that forests absorb twice as much carbon as they emit each year. We often think of the carbon mass of a tree, but fifty percent of the average tree is water. Within wetlands, forests play a critical role in preventing flooding, controlling erosion, and regulating local rainfall through respiration from the leaves. Despite their significance, forests are endangered.
Rosing’s richly colored semi-abstract paintings and her large-scale installation Entanglements, incorporating water samples from nearby Lake Winnebago and the Fox River explore the multitude of connections within forested watersheds; celebrating and advocating the preservation of these wild places.
Ten Thousand Beings will run from October 13 to November 3, 2022, in the Alan Priebe Gallery at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 13, 6 – 7:30 pm, preceded by an artist’s talk at 5 pm (room S149 in the Arts and Communications Center).
“Katherine Steichen Rosing creates vibrant and engaging imagery that transforms the gallery space into an immersive environment” asserts Leslie Walfish, curator of the exhibition and Director of Galleries & Campus Curator, and Instructor in the Art Department.
“Forest are my lens to the world”
Rosing’s work is influenced by a lifetime of exploring the forests and lakes of Northern Wisconsin and the Lake Superior Region. “I have a profound relationship with Northern ecosystems and the forests and the clear glacial lakes they envelop. My studio practice is deeply informed by my experiences in the wilderness, experimentation in the studio, and environmental reports,” says the artist.
Prolonged childhood camping trips to remote areas where her family camped in tents without electricity or running water, sparked a lifetime of wilderness experiences. Katherine remembers swimming and fishing with her family. “At that time eagles were nearly extinct, but it was safe to eat the fish. Eagles are now flourishing due in part to bans on DDT – but the fish are filled with mercury from coal-fired power plants, and forests are burning.”
A multimedia immersive exhibition probing the dichotomy between environmental anxiety and the exuberance of natural experiences
The exhibition title, Ten Thousand Beings, loosely references the Taoist concept of ten thousand things, as Rosing contemplates the infinite connections within ecosystems from microscopic larvae to the shimmering waters and fluttering leaves of the visible realm.
The exhibition features paintings from Rosing’s newest body of work, Water Shields and Damselflies, inspired by recent artist residencies, along with several earlier large-scale forest paintings, and a new multimedia installation titled Entanglements.
Her paintings are developed in numerous layers. She explains, “I often draw or scratch into wet paint, overpainting in many additional layers that may obscure the original marks. These implanted inscriptions reference invisible processes and life forms, creating a complex encrusted surface.”
The Entanglements installation is monochrome and feels almost drained of life, creating a strong contrast with the vividly colored paintings on the surrounding walls that celebrate the vigor and persistence of life.”The dichotomy between the paintings and my installations reflects the paradoxes of my daily experience – I am anxious about the looming threats to these ecosystems, but the moment I step outside and experience the natural world around me I rejoice.”
The installation creates a nearly forest-scale environment that encourages viewers to walk through the spaces, offering a reflective experience to consider ecological issues.
Entering the gallery, visitors hear flowing water, frog song, and human voices while encountering the central suspended sculpture “Mother Tree with Lichen.” The delicate white sculpture suggests the fragility of forest ecosystems. It is hand-stitched from translucent fabric and embellished with lichen-like painted lace. “I choose materials for the installations that are lightweight, accessible, and durable so that I can repurpose, reconfigure, and store them compactly,” she shares.
The large fabric tree sculpture is surrounded by 40,000 feet of sisal twine entangled on the floor and inserted into various glass containers placed almost ritually within the tangles, with water from nearby Lake Winnebago, the largest lake in Wisconsin, and the Fox River.
Envisioning the infinite connections within ecosystems
While planting new trees can play a role in mitigating climate change, data show that forests planted in the past 20 years represent less than 5% of the current global forest carbon sink. In addition to carbon sequestration, the roles forests play in regulating local rainfall and reducing flooding makes the protection of existing forests critical for climate mitigation.
With Ten Thousand Beings, Rosing hopes to increase awareness about connections not only between forests and lakes, but also the infinite relationships between even the most minuscule creatures and their roles within ecosystems. “When I try to understand the world, I imagine what invisible things might look like and all these tiny things are connected. I play with these ideas using shape to create visual rhythms and use color and texture to suggest hidden energies. I hope that my work inspires others to imagine and care about the complexities in the natural world that we are part of,” Rosing says.
About Katherine Steichen Rosing
Rosing's paintings and drawings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad, including Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., Tokyo, and Beijing. Her work is included in public and private collections internationally, including the State of Wisconsin Collection. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the City of Madison Arts Commission and the Wisconsin Arts Board. Furthering her environmental research, she was awarded artist residencies at the UW-Madison Department of Limnology’s Trout Lake Research Station and the St. Croix Watershed Research Station sponsored by the Science Museum of Minnesota.
A long-time arts educator, Rosing taught college art courses in the Chicago area and Madison, Wisconsin, where she lives and maintains her studio. Born and raised in Appleton (WI), Rosing earned a BA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BFA at the University of Colorado-Denver, and an MFA at Northern Illinois University. Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis represents her work.
Alan Priebe Gallery
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Arts & Communications Center, First floor, N102
1001 Elmwood, Oshkosh, WI 54901
Update #15
COP 27. the UN Climate Conference, this year in Egypt, ended as many in recent years have ended, with mixed outcomes. Delegates agreed that developed countries will give financial aid to developing countries to pay for catastrophic consequences of climate change. This will ease the burden for many. However, the resolution does not go deep enough, as there is still no commitment to phase out fossil fuel use as soon as possible. Without widespread use of alternative energy sources, the world will not be able to meet climate goals set by the Paris Accord.