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A collaboration between the Office of Sustainability and the ��ɫ��Ƶ Museum, Nathalie Miebach’s exhibition brought together classes and conversations during a year-long series of activities. Classes in Biology, Communication, Data Analytics, English, ENVS, Geosciences, Journalism, Psychology/Neuroscience, and Studio Art engaged with Miebach’s exhibition. She visited Data Analytics classes in the fall and gave an artist talk during the TUTTI festival in March, accompanied by a musical performance by the string quartet ETHEL. In addition, students served as paid assistants to Miebach during her week-long spring artist’s residency, helping with the installation and deinstallation of the exhibition in the ��ɫ��Ƶ Museum gallery.

Global Health students in Tom Henshaw’s “Planetary Health” course visited indigenous artist Ryan! Feddersen’s installation, Black Snake Rising, as part of their investigation of the impact of petroleum extraction. Students read case studies examining the history and use of petroleum, health issues surrounding oil drilling, and indigenous groups’ perspectives on the petroleum industry. They then explored Feddersen’s interactive depiction of a sea of black oil snakes flowing in a nest of petroleum products and the species most affected by oil spills. Finally, they presented a summary of their readings and discussed the tensions between petroleum as a driver of economic development and the adverse ecological and health outcomes associated with petroleum extraction.

During this week-long visit, intermediate Spanish students created exhibition labels as part of an assignment incorporating object analysis, historical research, and contextual analysis. Speaking and writing only in Spanish, students worked in small groups to select objects by Hispanic/ LatinX artists, making a formal presentation of their labels and research at the end of the week.

Students in Peter Graff’s “Music, Race, and Identity” course explored the exhibition of Diné (Navajo) photographer Will Wilson’s portraits of Native Americans alongside historical images from Edward Curtis’s early 19th century “The North American Indian” series. Students read critical theories and considered how artist and sitter jointly construct an image and what messages it conveys. Each student made a short presentation on a different contemporary Native American artist, followed by a discussion about representation of indigenous peoples in various forms of art.

Students in Shiri Noy’s “Sociology of International Development” course undertook a semester-long analysis of the Guna Indians’ mola textiles: the brightly colored, intricately patterned cloth produced by the women of the San Blas islands off the Atlantic coast of Panama. Through close-looking studies and analytical projects, students developed research skills and learned to construct meaning based on these objects, using the objects as data and evidence (not just as illustrations or examples.)

Students in Laura Romano’s Invertebrate Zoology course identified depictions of invertebrates in the Museum’s collection. They learned about cultural and aesthetic differences in representation, as well as how invertebrates are used as raw materials in the production of lacquer and cochineal dye. Students worked with the collections manager to learn how invertebrates affect artwork (e.g., infestations) and pest management techniques.

Students in Keith Spencer’s Studio Art foundation course visited the Museum on several occasions as part of a unit covering color theory, the integration of direct observation, and learning about cultural objects. Each student selected an object from the collection and created a Joseph Albers paper color palette while working in front of their object in the Museum. Returning to the studio, they created their own color wheels mixed from acrylic paint. Finally, they presented their object, palette, and observations to their peers.