Feb. 3, 2011

To draw more attention to the influence of art in shaping our understanding of science and nature, the School of Natural Resources and Environment is opening an art gallery inside the Dana Building, the greenest building on the campus of the University of Michigan. The inaugural event is 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, 2011.

The Art & Environment Gallery will feature work from local and national artists whose work speaks to how people interact and understand the environment. The inaugural exhibition, “Watershed Moment,” features the work of Ann Arbor artist Leslie Sobel and five pieces exploring landscapes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“I have been fascinated with aerial views of landscape for many years. Chaperoning a high school service trip to New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina, made the power and the significance of the Mississippi River painfully, viscerally, real,” Sobel said. “These pieces were inspired by that trip and by my recent discovery of a series of beautiful survey maps of the Mississippi River done by Harold Fisk in the 1940s.”

The exhibits will rotate about every eight weeks and be presented in five glass showcases in the Dana Building’s First floor Commons. “This gallery will draw attention to the intersecting values, both artistically and scientifically, of art and the environment,” said Sara Adlerstein, associate research scientist at SNRE and gallery organizer and curator. “Because of the way SNRE’s curriculum embraces interdisciplinary fields, it is a natural place to host this gallery. We are bringing art to our school to strengthen our sense of community and facilitate dialogue among students, faculty and staff in the spirit of green-building philosophy.”

Each show features an opening talk by the artist followed by a reception.