See also: Cornell Chronicle articles: May 2 | May 16. More pictures below.
Aerial view of Turfwork! [Photo by Peter Cadieux. Click image for larger view.]
News release – For immediate release April 29, 2008
288 words .doc version
More information: Marcia Eames-Sheavly, me14@cornell.edu or 607-255-1781
Images and links to high-resolution images follow text.
ITHACA, N.Y. – A group of Cornell students will unveil what may be the largest temporary art work in Ithaca’s history on Mother’s Day, May 11.
Titled Turfwork!, the flower-like design covers more than an acre and is intended to be viewed from the air. “Passengers flying in and out of Ithaca and people flying in to the East Hill Flying Club Mother’s Day breakfast will have the best view,” says Marcia Eames-Sheavly, Senior Extension Associate in Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture.
Eames-Sheavly, along with artist Jeff de Castro, guided the students through a rigorous semester-long creative process that led to the design and installation of the piece. “The students did all the work – creatively and physically,” says Eames-Sheavly. “Their goal was to create a simple, powerful, sensory surprise with maternal overtones, nestled into the landscape. And they did a great job.”
For their canvas, the students used a field at Cornell’s Bluegrass Lane Landscape Horticulture Field Research Facility adjacent to the Robert Trent Jones golf course. They “painted” their design into the grass using mulch, straw and black plastic to temporarily turn the grass yellow in places. “The staff and manager at the facility pitched in and offered tremendous support for the project,” adds Eames-Sheavly.
The work was made possible by grant from Cornell Council for the Arts. The student artists include Zach Aburahma, Pete Cadieux, Danielle Hodgins, Sven Kalim, Mary LaFrance, Michael Panich, Flisa Stevenson, and Brett Hochstein. Students from Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School added the ribbons to the 'bloom' portion of the installation. If you would like to visit the work from ground level, the students will be on hand to answer your questions from noon to 2 p.m. at the site, just east of Warren Rd. on Bluegrass Lane.
For more information, contact Eames-Sheavly at me14@cornell.edu.
Students constructing Turfwork!. [Photo by Sven Kalim. Click image for larger view.]
Students from Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School added the ribbons to the 'bloom' portion of the installation. [Photo by Craig Cramer. Click image for larger view.]
This aerial view highlights the scale of this student-created earth art. [Photo by Peter Cadieux. Click image for larger view.]
Aerial simulation of Turfwork! design. [Simulation by Michael Panich. Click image for larger view.]
Detail view of aerial simulation of Turfwork! design. [Simulation by Michael Panich. Click image for larger view.]