LITTLE ROCK — The management of fish and wildlife habitat is typically viewed as being within the purview of scientists, but an exhibition opening Friday at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts demonstrates that artists also have played a significant role in advancing the conservation of natural resources.
“The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability: Works From the Bank of America Collection” will be on display at AMFA June 13 through Aug. 31. The exhibition features paintings, photographs, prints and sculptures by artists who used their art to advocate for the conservation and protection of the planet and the creation of sustainable habitats for the future. Spanning from the mid-19th century to the present, the art charts the evolution of how people think about and interact with nature. Admission to the museum is free.
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, the AMFA will host “Family Fest: Into the Wild” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 14, featuring interactive artmaking, outdoor adventure and numerous hands-on activities for visitors throughout the museum and outside on the museum’s Event Lawn. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be among multiple participants presenting activities, including birds of prey, nature-inspired artmaking and a short film about Arkansas brown trout. AGFC Art Director Greta James, who has created the art for several AGFC Conservation License Plates, will discuss the role of art in conservation and assist with artmaking activities. Other activities, all of which are free and open to the public, include guided artmaking — with live animal models — in the museum’s Windgate Art School, fly-casting instruction and games from the Arkansas Fly Fishers, animals from the Little Rock Zoo, and cycling and hiking presentations from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
“Art has played an important role in conservation throughout the country and here in Arkansas,” Trey Reid, AGFC assistant chief of communications, said. “The federal duck stamp program has raised more than $1.2 billion for waterfowl and wildlife habitat and public hunting areas since its inception in 1934. Closer to home, the Game and Fish Commission’s Conservation License Plate program, featuring artistic renderings of Natural State fish and wildlife on state-issued vehicle license plates, has raised more than $20 million to support conservation education programs in the state. So we’re excited to play a small part in AMFA’s Family Fest to highlight the important role of art in conservation.”
“Into the Wild: From Conservation to Sustainability” is divided into four thematic sections and highlights the work of many prominent artists as well as lesser-known artists. “The Beginnings of Conservation” features late-19th- and early-20th-century artists like John James Audubon and Carleton Watkins, whose works influenced the founding of the Audubon Society and National Park Service. “Push and Pull — Industry and Environment” includes art by regionalists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood alongside Arthur Rothstein’s iconic Dust Bowl images exploring the impact of unsustainable farming practices, as well as photographs by Ansel Adams.
“The Emergence of Conservation Activism” focuses on post-war works and the emerging social and political focus on ecology during the late 1960s and 1970s. This section includes Robert Rauschenberg’s design for the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, and Michael Heizer’s innovative prints using plates made from recycled scrap-metal waste. “Working Towards a Sustainable Vision” highlights contemporary artists Aurora Robson and John Sabraw, who pull pollutants such as plastic debris and acidic mine drainage from our landscape to use as their materials, alongside other artists who emphasize the need to safeguard the planet.
The combined voices of the artists provide an innovative look at the interaction between humans and the natural environment over time, revealing its wonders and inviting visitors to contribute to conservation and sustainability.
“What we love about this exhibition is that it is really tracing the history of artists who are environmentalists themselves, or very interested in science and using their art to make a difference,” AMFA Curator Jennifer Jankauskas said. “The unifying theme is nature, and these artists are very interested in really talking about what our relationship with nature is. What I think is so interesting about some of these artists is that they think almost more like scientists in that they’re really trying to come up with solutions. It’s not just about documenting what’s out there, but it’s looking forward for the future.”
“Into the Wild: From Conservation to Sustainability” opens to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, June 13. A special preview for AMFA members is 5-8 p.m. Thursday, June 12. The AMFA is at 501 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park. More information is available at www.arkmfa.org or by calling 501-372-4000.
(Jennifer Jankauskas, AMFA curator, and Chris Revelle, AMFA Director of Community Engagement, are guests on the latest episode of the AGFC’s “Arkansas Wildlife” podcast, which can be accessed at https://youtu.be/Ro6VrGVNOHE and on other podcast platforms.)
