ASU Wildlife Art Exhibition

By Noah Schafer | 

The Adams State University Art Department is back with a fresh new exhibit, featuring wildlife. The exhibit will be up in the Adams State Art Building until Friday, March 8th, and features pieces of work from three different artists: Henry Blount, Mikki Harder, and Karrie York.

I was able to sit down for an interview with one of the artists, Henry Blount. When asked the role of art in nature, he responded by saying, “Art is a strictly human endeavor, but there is beauty and inspiration that can be taken away from nature for art.” Blount also reflected on the influences of nature in his art and himself. “I think what intrigues me is the idea of ecosystems and how life evolves and changes to fit into those ecosystems. It’s fascinating to me that a creature will literally change its physical being over time to better suit the environment around it. As Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park, ‘Life finds a way.’” The intrigue of ecosystems is obvious in his artwork. Many of Blount’s pieces feature animals interacting with everyday human objects.

In every piece of artwork featured in the exhibit, wildlife is depicted interacting with other wildlife or with more humane settings. The importance of wildlife being represented in art is as important today as it ever has been. It seems as if one of the only consistent ways of expressing all feelings, views, and facts on social issues is through art. Wildlife, and the preservation of it, is included in those issues. We are currently living in a society where facts are in dispute all the time, including  the fact that we, as human beings, need to take care of the world and everything in it. Global warming is an agreed upon event by 99% of climate scientists and one that is currently happening. The world, yes world, experienced one of its hottest years in 2018. The thought of how this is going to impact the wildlife needs to enter into our discourse. The art exhibit in the Adams State University Art building is a catalyst for this sort of thinking. Like Henry Blount said, “there is beauty and inspiration in nature.” The only way to keep that beauty and inspiration around is for us, humans, to take the responsibility to preserve that beauty and inspiration.

You can check out Blount’s and his fellow exhibitionists work at the Adams State Art Building. The exhibit will be open to the public until March 8th, so check it out! For more of Henry Blount’s artwork, visit his website at thecolorofblount.com.