Daniel McCormick: Iterations of Ecological Art and Design
February 19 – May 15 at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Show by Marin Artist runs concurrently with Eco Chic: Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion
www.svma.org
10 February 2011 – Sonoma, CA: What builds community: science or art? Artist Daniel McCormick from Marin County, California, says it’s both in his new show Iterations of Ecological Art and Design, February 19 – May 15 at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (www.svma.org).
“My focus is to create a public art experience with a scientific and ecological trajectory that is accessible to the public,” said McCormick who lives and works in Fairfax. “My process is formed on the principle that through collaboration one can create public art that encourages sustainability and stewardship of the built environment.”
Acclaimed for his ecological public art installations with the National Park System, and with conservation groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, McCormick is an example of that dichotomy — science vs. art — having studied both disciplines in college and graduating with a degree in architecture from the College of Environmental Design at University of California, Berkeley.
“I have been a working artist for over 27 years with integrated skills in the fields of sculpture, installation, environmental design and ecological restoration,” McCormick explains. “I create installations on public lands both in urban and rural areas that serve as public art works responding to ecological issues.”
McCormick’s skills as a builder, visual artist and designer have enabled him to propose and secure support for small restoration projects that developed into installations of environmental art and design. His sculptures and installations emphasize ecological design — the work needed to affect a positive change on the land on which it was sited, as well as on public perceptions. As part of his process, McCormick regularly engages with impacted communities and seeks their involvement as an integral part of the art-making process. McCormick often works with volunteers from various civic organizations and schools and mentoring other artists.
“My work is intended to have remedial qualities, functioning as restorative devices, as well as public art,” McCormick states. “It is my intention to give aesthetic weight to the ecological restoration process.”
Daniel McCormick: Iterations of Ecological Art and Design will be on view at the Museum, 551 Broadway in Sonoma, February 19 through May 15. Running in conjunction with McCormick’s work is the exhibit Eco Chic: Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion. Museum members are invited to an opening reception on Friday, February 18, 6pm–8 pm. Museum hours are Wednesdays through Sundays 11am– 5pm. More information about the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is available at www.svma.org or by calling (707) 939-7862.
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