Meaning of Wood: Longview

July 23- August 21

Opening Reception July 22,  4-6 PM

Rose Center for the Arts

15th Ave. & Washington Way

Longview, WA

Slide show HERE

The Meaning of Wood Curator Statement

There are probably as many paintings, photographs and sculptures of trees as there are trees. But many trees meet fates not so frequently portrayed: harvested and shipped to other markets, conserved for biological benefit and recreation, subjected to forest fires or windstorms and so lost to the use of humans and other species, milled and turned into functional products, and so forth.

The Meaning of Wood provokes thinking beyond individual tree portraits into the process and significance of trees becoming wood. It is a paradox of our language that “woods” means a living forest and “wood” means the material of products and commerce. Our language is permeated by tree metaphors – a problem has its “roots,” software programs have “branches,” railroads have “trunk” lines, we ourselves are “stiff as boards” or we “slept like logs.”

This is not an inconsequential topic: global forests are carbon sinks, rich nations pay poor ones to retain forests for carbon sequestration, and counties in Washington still depend on timber sales to fund education and public safety. Longview as a community has deep roots in many of these activities. Hosting such an exhibit invites discussion of the community’s history, economic health and values.

This invitational exhibit includes artists from all across western Washington and northern Oregon. It offers diverse media: painting, photography, printmaking, assemblages, quilting, sculpture, even a game.  It ranges from the days of the spotted owl protests to contemporary times and presents an array of social viewpoints.

Curating the exhibit has reminded me how much we treasure both “wood” and “woods.” As a society we attempt to derive both commercial and spiritual value from forests simultaneously. We can debate and disagree about what the highest and best uses of the resource are: experiences of nature? Biodiversity bank? Houses? Furniture? Objects of beauty and contemplation? Valuable export category? Or pallets and toilet paper tubes?

Our human nature responds to the rich sensory qualities of wood. Even dead, wood reminds us of life. We will never want to be without it around us.

Suze Woolf

Artist Statements HERE

Green Art: Coming soon!

"Trees come in many forms and are shaped by a huge variety of climatic and human forces. This makes them iconic vehicles for expressing human conditions and allows for commentary on deep ecology. Artists have always been arboreal fans; some artists look at trees and see them as canvases for their particular vision. Others may decide to replicate them in their favorite medium, whether it is ceramics, fabrics, paint or glass. They combine, redesign, and transform their materials into art that changes the way we perceive the world. Their creations grab our attention and give us a promise of renewal and beauty; their work with trees, roots, and leaves creates magic and mystery for us to delight in. In this striking collection, 106 international, twenty-first century artists portray their world in sculpture, glass, paint, clay, wood and other contemporary mediums, displayed in over 500 images. As Dr. Seuss suggests in The Lorax, they, Speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues."

Coming out very soon!

Pre-order your copy HERE