Photo courtesy of Emily Donahue '23. "Standing in Reflection" (2022), an installation by studio art major Emily Donahue '23, was displayed next to Upper Lake this November.
By Lenox Johnson ’24
Copy Chief & Arts & Entertainment Editor
On Nov. 7, 2022, Mount Holyoke studio art students erected a myriad of artworks along the lush perimeter of Upper Lake. The installations were created by students of the Fall 2022 semester “Topics in Studio Art: ‘Expanded Print Media’” course taught by Assistant Professor of Art Studio Amanda Maciuba. During the cultivation process, students worked with the Miller Worley Center for the Environment and the 2022-2023 Common Read “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer to create printed installations in response to the Western Massachusetts environment, Maciuba shared.
The installations are placed along Project Stream, a waterway boardwalk restoration initiative created in 2012 as a part of the Restoration Ecology Program, according to the College website. Students consulted with College representatives like Angelica Patterson of the Miller Worley Center for the Environment and campus grounds officials to propose ideas and receive permission to install their artwork along the campus, Maciuba said. The site restoration project addresses nutrient pollution in the Mount Holyoke lake system through water filtration and purification processes and aims to “improve the quality of water entering Upper Lake from the tributary stream, … set the site on a trajectory toward dominance by native plant species … [and] encourage site visitors and program participants to engage in the science, practice and social dimensions of ecological restoration through education and outreach endeavors.”
“Braiding Sweetgrass” — available to students through the College’s Library, Information and Technology Services — chronicles “the awakening of ecological consciousness [that] requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world” through Kimmerer’s experience as an Indigenous scientist and woman, as stated on the College website. The novel inspired the works created during the project. “I thought that using Kimmerer’s writings would be a great prompt to lead the artists into a deeper investigation of the environment around them, specifically Project Stream,’’ Maciuba said. “Some students responded very specifically to passages in the text while some students just used it as a loose inspiration or a guiding principle for their projects.”
Emily Donahue ’23, an artist who worked on the project, created their printmaking installation as part of the “Expanded Print Media” project. “Inspired by Braiding Sweetgrass, I was touched by the rules of the Honorable Harvest. We should be respecting the environment that has let us dwell here,” Donahue said. “As well as the work done in re-establishing Project Stream, I wanted to emphasize the negative impact that humans have on our world.
Donahue’s “Standing in Reflection” (2022), pitched in a grassy opening along the path surrounding the College’s Upper Lake, is an homage to “spreading appreciation, respect and love for the world around us,” Donahue shared. She hopes to inspire self-reflection and introspection in viewers. “While standing [among] the wetlands, one ghost stands covered in lavender, to signal calm, while the other has a lively checkerboard pattern. This pattern is meant to have the viewer reflect on their own thoughts and associations with patterns, and how that might differ from someone else’s,” she said.
Maeve Kydd ’24, an artist who also contributed to the installation series, views the assignment as an opportunity to delve into the art world beyond the College. Drawing inspiration from the predetermined works served their creative process. “I’ve done some installation [projects] in the past but, … it was nice to … see the site … [and] go through the process like you were a professional artist proposing a sculpture … for a specific site,” Kydd said. “It was cool just [to] go through that process and make something that I really wanted to make in response to the site. [I appreciate] the fact that a lot of people [can] see it.”
Kydd’s installation, “Birds Fly Free” (2022), was inspired by the diverse ecosystem of Upper Lake. Her work, a deep pink mural installation suspended between two trees, draws inspiration from the environment. “The main idea was just like looking at the surrounding nature and using that as inspiration to come up with [a] repeatable pattern,” they said. “[It was] my first time, [so] I wanted to do something where I can use more simple elements to create a pattern and use repetition and use the technique of screen printing. … I also wanted to create something that stands out a lot,” Kydd said. “It [stands] out a lot from nature and I think it was mainly just about looking at the surrounding plants and … the scenery [at] Project Stream and using that.”
Students used screen printing in conjunction with other creative processes or fabrication techniques they were familiar with to assemble their installations. The freedom of direction yielded varying interpretations. “Some students experimented with fibers and sewing, utilizing the Makerspace sewing machines. Others explored sculpture and painting techniques with their prints,” Maciuba said. “Because every student had a different project goal and different creative skills at their disposal there ended up being a wide variety of projects made from a lot of materials.”
Artworks ranged from fabric sculptures to metal screen prints. “It was cool to see how people took the basic outline and transformed it,” Kydd said of their response to peer installations.
The project sprouted purposeful engagement within the College community. Maciuba hopes the installations’ highly trafficked location contributed to increased public absorption, as well as the longevity of its messages and campuswide reflection. “This installation is very connected to my heart as an artist. … It has let me reflect on my memories and experiences that have shaped me as a person over my extended years at this College. I hope my installation brought a sense of friendship to any person walking by,” Donahue said. “If they so chose to investigate closer, I hope the patterns and hidden words could help them reflect on their associations while appreciating other people’s. In this way, we have greater perspective and respect for our community, environment and our world.”