Experiments with Art and Action
Experiments with Art and Action
February 14 – March 28, 2022
In the face of blind injustice, how do we continue?
How do we live our responsibility for healing?
— Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
The Visual Arts Program at Fordham University is proud to present Experiments with Art and Action, a selection of student artwork from Matthew López-Jensen’s course Art + Action on the Bronx River. First offered in spring 2021, this course is designed around direct experiences with the Bronx River, which flows only a few minutes’ walk from the Rose Hill campus. The river is a critical urban landmark, a scenic dividing line that runs from Westchester County to the East River. Throughout the semester, students study the history of the river, its ecology, its relationship to surrounding communities, and its connection to New York City’s watershed. Walking, collecting, observation, and boating are used to direct students’ creative output, as can be seen in the works on view. The course also directly engages with the Bronx River Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and protecting the river, and many of the pieces in this exhibition will be donated to the Bronx River Alliance for use as educational tools.
Some of the works included are the product of collective action, like a bottle cap cleanup in Starlight Park. The 3000 caps were collected, cleaned, and transformed into a snaking sculptural object and percussion instruments. Other projects include handmade plant identification cards, site-specific maps of landscapes along the Bronx River, landscape and underwater photography, and documentation from performative actions. Each project is the result of students directly engaging with the Bronx River and the adjacent landscapes. The show includes contributions from: Lily Ashendorf, Josephine Cohen, Liza Cohen, Grace Dailey, Lina Diamante, Baily Dolgon, Liz Galeano, Nora Hogan, Maggie Hunt, Mack Hurstell, Helen Hylton, Alexandra Klapak, Hanwen (Lina) Li, Zoey Liu, Nicolette Makris, Amelia Medved, Angela Payne, Alexia Ramos, Julia Reynolds, Tayler Rogers, Rosa Schembari, Emily Yankee, Gregory Yared, and Sophia Zehler.
For more information, contact Matthew López-Jensen
Image: Zoey Liu. Untitled (Concrete Plant Park on the Horizon). 2021.