Making the Invisible Visible: Groundwater in the San Luis Valley
- Jocelyn Catterson, CASE fellow artist and educator, San Luis Valley
- Holly Barnard, CASE fellow scientist, CU Boulder Associate Dean of Research, Professor, Geography, Hydrologic Sciences and INSTAAR fellow
Catterson and Barnard will discuss their collaboration for Making the Invisible Visible, a project and artwork series that explores the ways San Luis Valley communities are experiencing and responding to issues tied to groundwater. The paintings represent an ongoing conversation between the artist, scientists, and the community on how to “make visible” the connections between changes in snowmelt and runoff, agriculture in the valley, and the aquifer below. The art illustrates the complexity and interconnectedness of multiple data sets and the community’s lived experience through varied artistic perspectives transcending the limits of what we are capable of seeing on the valley floor.
Beetle Kill in Monarch Pass: “All of this is infected; we just don’t see it yet.”
- Beth Johnston, MFA, CASE fellow artist, Salida and
- Kendi Davies, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO)
“All of this is infected; we just don’t see it yet.” This is what artist Johnston heard from a local forest ranger as she pointed out across the horizon of forest. Years later, these trees stand as skeletons, limb after limb, blackened and dry. A strange temporal chasm of perception.
The climate crisis is often invisible. We don’t sense or see 2 degrees of warming or notice the increase in carbon dioxide. Beetle kill, however, is a moment of seeing; a tumor coming to the surface of a larger disease. The artwork presented explores the impacts of beetle kill on Monarch Pass and the surrounding communities. Salida based artist Beth Johnston collaborated with CU Boulder ecologists (Kendi Davies and Laura Dee) to translate scientific research into visual, material, and emotional form. The artwork is an exploration of what is happening on Monarch Pass, but it is also an exploration of what lies beyond what we currently see. The artwork explores layers of impact, attempts to distill scientific information in alternative forms, and hopes to ignite conversations and action through education and awareness.
About Coffee and Conversations:
The Coffee & Conversations series explore themes in community-engaged scholarship—from the language we use to how we build relationships with community partners. These informal events are designed for conversation and opportunities to workshop ideas. We learn together with help from colleagues across campus, as well as staff from the Office for Outreach and Engagement and CU Engage. Those new to outreach and community-engaged scholarship and veteran practitioners are welcome. The series is hosted by the Office for Outreach and Engagement. Please contact Lisa Schwartz with questions.
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