Fault Lines: Art and the Environment
Explore the best of the North Carolina Museum of Art and its newest exhibit
Springtime is finally here and with it comes new exhibits, outdoor events, and concerts at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The NCMA tops our list of one of the best North Carolina places, with its expansive outdoor trails, modern gallery space, and collaborative art environment. Saturday, April 2nd was a busy day for the museum, as it officially launched its newest exhibit, Fault Lines. This exhibition displays mixed media art to bring awareness to our current environmental concerns.
This exhibit, located in the NCMA’s East building features 14 contemporary artists. The collection also spans outdoors with sculptures in the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park. One of the most popular pieces is the Crochet Coral Reef project by Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim. This massive project used over two thousand crocheted donations by more than 400 North Carolina and countrywide fiber artists and crocheters. Small installations from this special project have been displayed all over the state to entice viewers to visit the NCMA.
This collection of works challenges the viewer to explore their personal relationship with nature and reflects on how our society relies heavily on fossil fuels, plastics, and the devastation this dependency has caused. Key topics displayed in this exhibit are pollution, climate change, habitat and species loss, sustainability, and restoration.
The Midden (featured above) is a 440lbs sculpture created by the artists’ accumulation of trash over several years. This bundle of plastic trash is formed and displayed overhead. This collection of plastic bags, bottles, and wrappers is lit with a spectrum of colors to highlight our individual consumption of plastics.
This collection features the works of John Akomfrah, Willie Cole, Olafur Eliasson, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Susie Ganch, Allison Janae Hamilton, Hugh Hayden, Hugo McCloud, Richard Mosse, Jean Shin, Jennifer Steinkamp, Kirsten Stolle, Christine Wertheim, and Margaret Wertheim. Entering the park, you’ll see a cluster of green plastic. Invasives, by Jean Shin (below), draw attention to our use of disposable single-use plastics with this thought-provoking installation made of Mountain Dew bottles. This art piece also highlights the hazards of high-fructose corn syrup on our ecosystems and health.
All-in-all, if you’re looking for a great weekend spot, the North Carolina Museum of Art has you covered. During our visit to the exhibit, the museum also had an artist pop-up with vendors and live music. The outdoor areas were bustling with hikers, dogs, picnics, and a North Carolina State plant sale. With warm weather comes outdoor events, concerts, workshops, camps, and programs. To find out more about the North Carolina Museum of Art, please visit: North Carolina Museum of Art — North Carolina Museum of Art (ncartmuseum.org)
To purchase tickets or find out more details on the Fault Lines: Art and the Environment, please visit: Fault Lines: Art and the Environment — North Carolina Museum of Art (ncartmuseum.org)
Article photography by Stephanie Barnhill Neal
Written by Stephanie Barnhill Neal, with contributions made by Tabitha Redding
