Carin Jacobs is more than the director of Sonoma State University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, she's also an curator with a background in museum studies. In "Tidal Response," a new show she has curated at the Petaluma Arts Center running Aug. 19-Oct. 21, Jacobs explores the intersection of art and science through a series of responses to coastal environments.
“This exhibition prompts us to consider how artistic process and scientific method inform each other, while reminding us of the fragility and scarcity of natural resources,“ says Jacobs.
The exhibition features work from artists Peter Connors, Chris Dewees, Courtney Mattison, Richard and Judith Selby Lang, Julia Edith Rigby and Holly Sumner.
Some of these marine impressions are more literal. Connors displays formerly living sea creatures as a medium in his delicate algae pressings and Dewees uses sea inhabitants as part of his process of Gyotaku (Japanese fish printing). Other works are more conceptual, as Richard and Judith Selby Lang repurpose objects found at the water’s edge to express both environmental philosophy and sense of place.
The Center is also hosting a variety of related programs and activities, including a panel discussion on the relationship between art, science and the environment; a book signing of the newly published A Life Among Fishes; and demonstrations of both Gyotaku and 3D modeling of undersea coral samples.
The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, Aug. 19 with a free reception for the artists 5-7 p.m.