- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When you attend the seventh annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 to see 13 museums or collections, be sure to see It's Bugged: Insects' Role in Design, an exhibit in Cruess Hall that explores the connection between insects and people.
Or connects insects and people.
The display will be open from noon to 4 p.m., especially for Biodiversity Museum Day. (Note that the Design Museum exhibit is not open on Saturdays, but this Saturday it is. The event opened Jan. 8 and hours are from noon to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m, through April 22. Admission is free.)
"Bugged" features the work of Department of Design faculty and graduate students, as well as displays from the Bohart Museum of Entomology and insect photos by UC Davis Ph.D alum Alex Wild, now curator of entomology at the University of Texas, Austin.
Key attractions include the amazing work of professor emerita Ann Savageau of the Department of Design. For the exhibition, Savageau created a trilogy of wall pieces made from hornet nest paper, and a set of sculptures made of wood etched into striking patterns by bark beetle larvae.
The exhibition explores the two sides of the relationship between people and insects, Savageau told the crowd at the opening reception. “The first side shows how makers, designers, architects, and artists draw upon nature's patterns to create beautiful and useful materials and structures. The second side examines the collaboration of humans and insects as producers of raw materials, such as harvested silk and red dye made from cochineal. This human-insect relationship is complex and compelling.”
“Insects have played a significant role in human cultures across the globe for millennia," Savageau related. "They have been revered as sacred, they have been used as food, dye, and ornament. They have been inspiration for human architecture, design and art. And some insect products, namely silk and cochineal, have been big players in global trade networks, economies, and conflicts.”
“But today, insect populations are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the implications for the health of our planet are staggering. Just look at the crash of honey bee populations in the US, and its implications for so many of our crops.”
In her talk, Savageau described the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata, "as an animal dear to my heart, because I use the paper from its nest to create artworks. This hornet creates large paper nests that have dozens of layers of paper with air pockets in between. Inside are multiple layers of brood combs where the queen lays hundreds of eggs. The larvae are fed chewed insects by the workers."
The retired professor and now full-time artist works with the patterns etched by bark beetle larvae under the bark of various trees, including pine and fir. "Each pattern serves a specific function for the beetles and their larvae," she said. For her piece titled "Totems," she applied metallic paints to fill in either the beetle galleries or the top layer of wood. She collected the work of six different bark beetle species, each one with a distinctive pattern.
Exhibition curator Adrienne McGraw says of "It's Bugged": “The inspiration we draw from the natural world is endless. The challenge in the exhibit was focusing our story to the links between insects and textiles and forms. We selected key pieces from UC Davis' Joann C. Stabb Design Collection and works from collaborating artists, so the connection to insects could then be explored. Some of these relationships are centuries old, while other ways people are using insects and insect behavior is relatively new. What's exciting to me is to think about all the new products, designs, and technologies that are still to come as people continue to be inspired by insects. And what better place to encourage that than a university setting where so much creative work is already going on?”
Biodiversity Museum Day is free and open to the public. The following will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology; Bohart Museum of Entomology, Raptor Center, Paleontology Collection, Arboretum and Public Garden; Phaff Yeast Culture Collection; and the Viticulture and Enology Culture Collection.
The following will be open from noon to 4 p.m.: Nematode Collection, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity Herbarium, Anthropology Museum, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, and the Design Museum.
You can download maps at http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu. Capsule information is here.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Not environmental artist Ann Savageau; the retired UC Davis Department of Design professor creates art from hornet nest paper.
"I began using hornet nest paper back in Ann Arbor, Mich. in the early 1990s," said Savageau, who describes herself as "an environmental artist who creates mixed-media sculpture and installations."
"Hornet's nests are common in that area," she said. "I am attracted to the beautiful colors and patterns."
Her art will be among works displayed at the UC Davis Design Museum's exhibition, It's Bugged: Insects' Role in Design, set Jan. 8-April 22 in Room 124 of Cruess Hall. The show is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free.
The professor emerita, a member of the UC Davis faculty from 2003 to 2014 and now a full-time artist, says her work deals with the natural world, human culture, and their intersection. "My current interests include global warming and environmental destruction; consumer culture and wasteful consumption; and artistic transformations of waste." Her Stanford anthropological training, her interest in the natural world, and the many places she has lived are reflected in her art, which she has displayed in more than 80 exhibitions, both nationally and internationally.
For the UC Davis exhibition, Savageau created a trilogy of wall pieces made from hornets' nest paper, and a set of sculptures made of wood etched into striking patterns by bark beetle larvae.
Savageau said she collected only unoccupied hornet nests in the Ann Arbor area, which she found on tree branches or lower in bushes. She has never been stung. "I collected the nests in late fall or winter, after some hard frosts, when the nests were empty (no life inside)," she said. "The queen leaves the nest and hibernates, under a log or some other protected place."
The nests she's collected range in size from a basketball to 30 inches in diameter.
The artistic process? "The paper on the nest is many layers deep," Savageau related. "I peel the paper off the nest—it comes off in irregular sizes and shapes. Then I collage it onto foam core, matching the irregular pieces in such a way that they appear to be one large sheet. The pieces are usually no larger than four to six inches. It's similar to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle."
The artist, who holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and her master's degree in fine arts from Wayne State University, Detroit, taught at the University of Michigan Residential College, Ann Arbor, from 1978-2002 before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2003. (See more of her work at http://annsavageau.com/)
"The colors and patterns of a hornet's nest are indeed exquisite," said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis. "We have several hornet nests as part of our museum's collection, and one is huge--larger than a basketball." The bald-faced hornet, Dolichoves pulamaculata, crafts the papery, egg-shaped nests by mixing wood fibers with saliva. The insect's name refers to the ivory-white markings on its face. Its thorax, legs and abdomen also have white markings.
The hornet nest closes down in late fall or winter, Kimsey said, and the queen leaves to hibernate for the winter in such protected places as in hollow trees and fence posts, or under logs, bark or rock piles. In the spring, the queen emerges to begin building a nest, which eventually may contain some 400 to 700 workers. The nests are mottled gray with layered hexagonal combs.
The bald-faced hornets are considered important to the ecosystem in that they pollinate plants and prey upon many insect pests. They are, however, known for their highly defensive behavior in protecting their nests.
A reception heralding the opening of the Design Museum exhibition is set from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 11. Savageau will give a presentation on the exhibition at 6:30 p.m. in Room 256 of Cruess Hall.
(Visit the Design Museum for map and parking information.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Capture images of the bees, create sculptures from beetle galleries, and depict insect motifs on clothing...
Don't miss the unique exhibition, It's Bugged: Insects' Role in Design, set Jan. 8-April 22 at the UC Davis Design Museum in Room 124 of Cruess Hall, UC Davis campus.
Beginning at noon, Monday, Jan. 8, you can view the art-and-design installation that explores the connections between people and insects. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Hours are from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays, and from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sundays through April 22.
You'll see work by UC Davis Department of Design faculty and graduate students, as well as displays from the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
The Bohart Museum will showcase insect specimens from its collection, and images from celebrated insect photographer Alex Wild, curator of entomology at the University of Texas, Austin. Wild received his doctorate in entomology in from UC Davis in 2005, studying with major professor Phil Ward.
The Design Museum exhibition also ties in with the Bohart Museum's open house, “Bug Art @ the Bohart," from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 21 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. This will overlap with the Design Museum's hours on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m., so visitors can explore both museums, said Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum's education and outreach coordinator.
“The inspiration we draw from the natural world is endless,” said McGraw. “The challenge in the exhibit was focusing our story to the links between insects and textiles and forms. We selected key pieces from UC Davis' Joann C. Stabb Design Collection and works from collaborating artists, so the connection to insects could then be explored. Some of these relationships are centuries old, while other ways people are using insects and insect behavior is relatively new. What's exciting to me is to think about all the new products, designs, and technologies that are still to come as people continue to be inspired by insects. And what better place to encourage that than a university setting where so much creative work is already going on?”
The exhibition includes the work of several Department of Design faculty and graduate students, including professor emerita Ann Savageau and master-of-fine-art students Alicia Decker, Cory Wolffs and Lauren Kelly.
For the exhibition, Savageau created a trilogy of wall pieces made from hornet nest paper, and a set of sculptures made of wood etched into striking patterns by bark beetle larvae. The Bohart Museum open house on bark beetles featured her work last August.
Savageau describes herself as an environmental artist who creates mixed-media sculpture and installations. Her work deals with the natural world, human culture, and their intersection. Her current interests include global warming and environmental destruction; consumer culture and wasteful consumption; and artistic transformations of waste. Ann's Stanford anthropological training, her interest in the natural world, and the many places she has lived are reflected in her art.
Ann received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University, and her master of fine arts from Wayne State University. She taught at the University of Michigan Residential College from 1978-2002. She joined the faculty at UC Davis in 2003, retiring as a professor of design in 2014. She currently works as a full-time studio artist. Ann has exhibited her work in more than 80 exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. She has given numerous lectures and workshops and has juried many exhibitions. (See more of her work at http://annsavageau.com/)
Alex Wild describes himself as a "Texas-based biologist who started photographing insects in 2002 as an aesthetic complement to my scientific work on ant taxonomy and evolution." His photographs have appeared in numerous natural history museums, magazines, books, television programs, and other media, including the New York Times, Science, Nature, Washington Post, National Geographic and the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), among others. He and colleagues teach a BugShot Macro Photography Workshops. Wild shared some of his photography techniques when he presented a UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar in 2008. (See his seminar posted on UCTV and his images on his website.)
A reception heralding the opening of the Design Museum exhibition is set from 6 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 11. Savageau will give a presentation on the show at 6:30 p.m. in Room 256 of Cruess Hall.
(Visit the Design Museum for map and parking information.)