The Art in the Library program is pleased to feature artists Peter Cavanagh and Nikyta Palmisani.
Peter Cavanagh is a Pacific Northwest photographer and filmmaker who specializes in capturing images of birds, often birds in flight. He sees birds as an accessible entry point for observers to appreciate the diversity and interdependence of our entire ecosystem. He hopes that beauty seen in bird photographs will be a call to action for habitat preservation and environmental stewardship. Peter’s photographs of birds taken on Lopez Island, Japan, South America, and the Falkland Islands will be featured on the library walls.
Nikyta Palmisani will be the library’s artist in residence as part of her exhibit Curious Lopez. This will be an interactive art exhibit in the library display case, modeled after the 16th Century European Cabinets of Curiosity. These historic displays predated and were the precursors to modern museums, and featured collections that ranged from objects from the natural world to artifacts of curiosity and superstition, designed to impress viewers. For Curious Lopez, Nikyta will be creating a Lopez-specific, participatory Cabinet of Curiosity, with curated jars and boxes of objects, all collected on Lopez. Viewers will be able to “check out” objects for varying time frames ranging from a few seconds to a few days. Nikyta will be in residence at the library twice a week to help Lopezians explore the curiosities contained within the cabinet and to add new objects to the collection. Curious Lopez will be a living work, meaning that the art will evolve based on the interactions between the artist, the objects, and the community participants over time.
Both exhibits will open Friday, September 21st with an opening reception from 4-5pm.