Artist Talk: Alan Sonfist
Artist Talks on Public Art and the Environment
Event Details
In partnership with Small School, an art-based, alternative education platform featuring prominent national and international visiting artists, we invite you to join us at the Chapel for a series of stimulating and thought-provoking conversations on public art and the environment at Dix Park.
Featured Artist: Alan Sonfist
Talk Title: The Art of Ecological Engagement
In a 1969 lecture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Sonfist spoke the following statement:
“Public monuments traditionally have celebrated events in human history—acts of heroism important to the human community. Increasingly, as we come to understand our dependence on nature, the concept of community expands to include non-human elements. Civic monuments, then, should honor and celebrate the life and acts of the total community, the human ecosystem, including natural phenomena. Especially within the city, public monuments should recapture and revitalize the history of the natural environment at that location. As in war monuments, that record of life and death of soldiers, the life and death of natural phenomena such as rivers, springs, and natural outcroppings needs to be remembered.”
In this talk, Sonfist shares selected projects and stories from his 6+ decades of work advocating for the natural environment as an artist, and his thoughts on his (and our) environmental artwork ahead.
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Location: The Chapel at Dix Park, 1030 Richardson Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603
Tickets
Free to attend. Seating is limited. Registration is required.
Registration opens 2 weeks in advance at 12:00 pm.
This program is free to the public thanks to Dix Park Conservancy donors.
Featured Artist Bio
In the extraordinary range of his work, Alan Sonfist recreates the inventiveness and intricacy of his subject, the natural world itself. Beginning as a teenager in the 1960s, Sonfist has explored issues of ecological deterioration, preservation, and what would later be understood as "climate change" through projects that draw on the materials and methods of the naturalist, historian, and urban planner. An increasing rejection of commercialization and growing ecological awareness in the early 1960s provide the historical context for many of the themes in Sonfist's work and connect him to artistic movements such as Conceptual Art, Land or Environmental art, and site-specific works. But Sonfist's distinctive interest in urban ecosystems - a result of his upbringing in New York City's South Bronx - is one of the features that distinguishes him from other artists who use natural elements and processes as their artistic medium. Rather than excluding human history from his pieces, Sonfist is deeply attentive to the many specific histories of a given site, often juxtaposing them to powerful effect.
Directions and Parking
- Via Western Boulevard: Enter at Hunt Drive or S. Boylan Avenue
- Via Lake Wheeler Road: Enter at Umstead Drive
- Follow Signs towards The Chapel
- Parking is located in the lots next to and in front of the Chapel. ADA parking is available.
- Click on the image below for an enlarged parking map.
Accessibility
Dix Park continues to strive to be accessible and welcoming for visitors, including those with disabilities. Currently, portions of Dix Park, including some areas where programs and events occur, have uneven surfaces and are not fully accessible. Accessibility is a primary focus for early park improvements and all future planning and development.
Parking: ADA parking spaces for the Chapel are to the left and out front of the building. ADA parking spaces are available in all lots.
Chapel Entrance: Ramp and ADA push button activated door is located to the left of the front of the building.
Restrooms: Indoor accessible restrooms are available in the Chapel.
Programs and events: Raleigh Parks Inclusion Services works with community members to support participation. To request a program modification based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please complete and submit the Accommodation Request Form or contact Inclusion Services staff at 919-996-2147 or ParksInclusion@raleighnc.gov.
Questions?
Contact Dix Park Staff at 919-996-3255 or events@dixpark.org