Presenters
Craig Allen, noted WCBS 880 radio meteorologist, will serve as master of ceremonies during the symposium. Craig earned his meteorology degree from the Earth & Space Sciences Department at Stony Brook University moving on to become chief meteorologist for WCBS 880.. “There are too many variables surrounding us in this bubble of an atmosphere we call home,” Allen has stated, “the physics of the atmosphere follow certain laws and never breaks away from them. We do not know all those laws; neither do the computers! I don’t believe forecasting will ever be a perfected science…but I’ll always try my best!”
Richard Klein, Director of Exhibitions at The Aldrich and curator of Weather Report will present a synopsis of the exhibition, putting the project in historical perspective. Klein, who is a curator, artist, and writer has been the Exhibitions Director at the Museum since 1999 and has organized over 80 exhibitions of contemporary art. His essays on art and culture have appeared in Cabinet Magazine and have been included in books published by Hatje Cantz, Damiani, Picturebox, Ridinghouse, Gregory R. Miller & Co., and the University of Chicago Press, among others.
Pat Pickett, an artist whose work is included in Weather Report, has been engaged in long-running experimental drawing project that expresses the interaction between the force of the wind and plants. Attaching pens to the end of tree branches she has trees create drawings that describe both wind conditions and the character of the specific tree. Pickett received a BA from Scripps College and a MFA from Hunter College. Her work has been exhibited in both New York and California.
Amanda Bunce is a Research Technician for Stormwise, a forest management program based at the University of Connecticut that studies tree-related storm damage to power lines. Wind data collected from a tree outfitted with her equipment in The Aldrich’s sculpture garden will be graphically realized live in the exhibition with the help of UCONN’s Digital Experience Lab. Bunce will speak to the ecological effects of forest management in southern New England and increasing resilience of the forest in the face of climate change, fragmentation and other challenges.
Todd Forrest is Arthur Ross Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections at the New York Botanical Garden. An advocate for historic trees and forests in urban landscapes and public gardens, Forrest previously worked at the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University and received his Master of Forest Science from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Forrest will speak about the effects of storm damage and climate change on both the Botanical Garden’s trees and the forests of the northeast.
Colin McMullan is an interdisciplinary artist whose work touches on environmentalism, New England history and land use, community organizing, and political activism. His recent project Tree Spa for Urban Healing, included in Weather Report, is a wood-fired maple sugar evaporator that uses waste steam to power a full-sized sauna. Originally designed for use in urban Hartford, CT, McMullan organized a diverse group of community volunteers, to make syrup from the city’s urban maples. McMullan will be collaborating in the late winter of 2020 with Danbury area maple sap harvesters to activate the Tree Spa at The Aldrich Museum.
Kim Keever changed career in the late 1970’s to become a full time artist after a career as a thermal engineer working primarily on NASA projects. Keever has become well known for his dramatic, large-scale photographic works that document cloud-like forms he creates by pouring pigment into large aquariums that mimic natural convection forces in the atmosphere. Keever draws on his original vocation by retaining a scientific and investigative process in his work, while at the same time displaying an astute awareness of historical landscape art.