EcoCultures is an exhibition bringing together current cultural
productions at the intersections of the arts, sciences and the
practice of everyday life to explore the interdependence of our
social and biological systems.

Mason Hall Atrium Gallery | George Mason University, Fairfax VA
September 22 - October 6, 2011

Public Reception - September 22, 6:30 - 8:00pm

With generous support from:

George Mason University (GMU) School of Art

GMU Office of the Provost

GMU Center for Field Studies

GMU Cultural Studies

Marielle Barrow & GMU Media, Arts and Culture Organization

Sean Watkins

Justin Raphael Roykovich

Solomon Wondimu

Shanna Carvell

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BLACK SEAM Exhibition Brochure

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Celebration and refreshments will be provided. 

Sincerely,
Jeff Lovett

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This book was developed in conjunction with my ongoing body of research and is currently on sale at Lulu publishing (see below). It will also be for sale at my upcoming exhibition by the same name.

Please feel free to ask me any questions and check out the preview below.

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Infrared Ohio University Powerplant from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

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For a more detailed look at the images, see: http://jefflovett.net/index.php/2009/12/mpsu-acid-mine-drainage/

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Gavin AMD from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

This is a digital transfer of a 16mm film.

This film was shot on Kodak Ektachrome 100D Color Reversal Film. The camera was a a Keystone Model A-9 circa. 1947.

This film was shot on August 25th 2010

Color reversal film is exposed and developed as a positive image. This means that when the film is screened, the light from the projector is passing through the same film that was on site and recorded the initial indexical projections from the subjects at the site.

The indexical record of the films presence at the site is developed through a series of eroding processes. As the final product is projected it is subjected to damage, with every viewing of the film information is exchanged index for index. The visual information that was "etched" on to the substrate of the film is lost and replaced by the information that illustrates the damaging history of viewing the film.

The processes of erosion and the records of damage that are embedded in the film echo those of the sites in the film. The Gavin Power Plant is a site of consumption and damage. Nine to Fourteen full sized river barges of coal are crushed to dust and combusted there every day. The plant, despite its scrubbers, emits sulfur dioxide (the chemical culprit of acid rain) in to the atmosphere. The poisons that the scrubbers do extract from the exhaust are merely packed into nearby valleys as a toxic sludge separated from the topsoil by a mere 6mil plastic sheet.

The Essex mine remediation facility is a record of mining that ceased nearly a hundred years ago. A process called robbing the pillar, where by miners remove the supports that keep a mine from collapsing, were practiced very often as mines in the 19^th century were depleted. This practice left the Essex mine susceptible to collapse. When a portion did give way a creek diverted into the abandoned mine shafts. As it flowed through and out of what used to be the miners' entrance it carried with it toxic chemicals stored in the raw surfaces of the interior. These toxins coat the creek in powered alumina (the white substance) and iron sulfide (the rusty colored sludge) and kill all the living organisms.

This film should be considered as raw material and a rough draft. I have several pieces in mind that will use the film that has been digitized and uploaded here.

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THE CRUDE AND THE RARE

October 19 to November 20, 2010
41 Cooper Gallery

Curated by Saskia Bos and Steven Lam

Opening Reception: Oct. 19, 2010, 6 to 9 pm
Open hours Tues – Sat. 11 am to 6 pm

Artists:
Marina Abramović, Bik Van der Pol, Mark Dion, Jimmie Durham, Grady Gerbracht, Alfredo Jaar, Sara Jordenö, Robert Kinmont, Jeff Lovett, Margaret Morton, Matt Mullican, Sophie Ristelhueber, Lonnie Van Brummelen & Siebren de Haan, among others

Continuing the research on environmental justice started with the inaugural exhibition at 41 Cooper Gallery, Free as Air and Water, this exhibition will feature projects made in the past few decades that address the intersection between materiality, alchemy, and the politics of resource extraction.

Featuring a diverse group of artists that span from multiple generations and geographic areas, the exhibition includes projects that address the political economy of precious substances such as gold, diamonds, and oil. By investigating how matter has inspired creative processes and critique, The Crude and the Rare delves into the poesis of making, considering how physicality and the transformation of matter layer our understanding of the material world

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The installation will remain up through September.

The following photos are of the installation which consists of two pieces:

Acid Mine Drainage: Carbondale #2 Mine Remediation Facility

AMD, a serious problem in southeast Ohio, is caused by water flowing out of coal mines, many of which were abandoned over a hundred years ago. AMD carries with it oxidized minerals that were trapped within the coal. These minerals leave corrosive deposits at their point of departure and stain creeks red for miles killing nearly all living organisms it comes in contact with. AMD reflects the residual effects of the coal-mining industry and produces one of southeast Ohio’s most serious environmental problems.

Carboniferous Forest Diorama

Carboniferous Forest Diorama is an enlarged scan of an image from The Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (a typical entry-level geology textbook). The image is of the Carboniferous Forest Diorama at the Field Museum in Chicago. This diorama over the last 80 years has become the symbolic image of a geologic time period. By reproducing the text book image this print illustrates the beautiful similarities between South East Ohio now and 330 million years ago. The enlargement of the image magnifies the mechanical methods used to propagate this icon around the world and elevate it to a symbolic status.

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Coal A Bridge to the Future on Coal from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

Coal was the Wealth of a Nation Loop from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

A Little Soot Upon the Windowsill Loop from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

Solar Power Loop from Jeff Lovett on Vimeo.

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