The diversity of plant and animal species native to California is celebrated in 62 artworks on view in the exhibition The Art of Seeing: Nature Revealed Through Illustration. This juried exhibition features recent works by 48 artists as well as a mural created by a group of 21 art students. Display cases will hold reference materials the artists used to create their work, including sketches, photos, field journals and specimens.

This year the strict criteria of past exhibitions — that the artworks be accurate, recognizable representations of California species — were broadened to allow artists' interpretations that capture the essence of a species, as well as artworks featuring California habitats. The resulting exhibition, curated by the Natural Sciences Department, is a varied presentation that ranges from scientific illustration to such unusual works as Richard Feese's robot-like mixed media construction, "Death Valley Raven," and Martin Lasack's "Endless Blue," a huge painted sky through which three barely visible birds fly — coincidentally, also ravens. A variety of media are represented: acrylic, charcoal, collage, colored pencil, computer illustration, graphite, gouache, ink, linocut, mixed media construction, oil, pastel, pyroengraving, serigraph, tempera and watercolor.

	Art of Seeing Slide Show

One of the works in the exhibition, "Native Patterns — a Collaborative Project," was created by Rachel Lazo's 2-Dimensional Concepts class at San Jose State University. The students created a mural from 4"x 4" linoleum block prints of stylized designs based on 23 native California plant species, repeated and arranged in a grid to form an interlocking pattern, on the model of artist William Morris, the English founder of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Another work, "California Cone-flower" by medical illustrator Genevieve Wilson, is a testament to her battle with lung cancer. It was created in honor of her doctor, Richard Dakin, who did not survive his own cancer. The watercolor painting, which incorporates written comments collected by Dr. Dakin to be of help to other cancer patients, is done on handmade paper that incorporates seeds and pods of medicinal plants collected from the Marin Cancer Institute's "Wellness Garden."

Approximately 200 works were submitted for this year's exhibition. A preliminary screening by the museum's Natural Sciences staff ensured that the works submitted to the judges depicted native California species and habitats. From the works that remained, 62 were selected for the exhibition by a three-member panel that included a biology professor, an illustration instructor and a medical illustrator.

The exhibition is curated by Gail Binder, Natural Sciences preparator at the Oakland Museum of California

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATION
 The biological illustrator must be an excellent observer, able to truly “see” the subject, and to clearly represent it with minimal interpretation. Because the work demands such close, considered, and often prolonged observation, it results in a particularly intimate relationship between the illustrator and the subject. The intensity of this relationship — the commitment of the artist — can be seen in the composition, expressiveness, detail and elegance of the artworks.

One of the best methods of learning about an organism is to draw or paint it. The challenge of making an accurate rendering progressively focuses attention on all aspects of the organism. With this in mind, a drawing table in the gallery will allow visitors to the exhibition to try their hand at drawing specimens.

The Art of Seeing: Nature Revealed Through Illustration is made possible in part by the generous support of the Oakland Museum Women's Board, with additional support provided by the Anne Macpherson/Ruth Williams Endowment for Biological Art & Illustration.

© 2003 Oakland Museum of California | Credits |Phone: 510-238-2200