Amerind Free Online Artist Talk

Under the Microscope: Using Process to Develop Visual Voice with Artist Debra Edgerton

Saturday, October 16, 2021, 11:00 am – Arizona Time

I’ve always been fascinated by the power of water. From fear to reverence, water contains a multi-layered narrative that connects all organisms to a living planet. Most conversation concerning water center around how human-kind is affected by its contamination or depletion. Water is life-giving and life-sustaining but there is less regard for most life living through it.

I started basic research on freshwater ecosystems in 2019. It culminated in the group exhibition, Parched, about general water issues. However, my vision for dissemination could not be achieved because of the demands for shared space and my own truncated research. Because we live in a time of climate severity, water depletion, and skepticism in science, I am continuing my vision of connecting art and science to give visual voice to an area most of the public will not engage. The art developmental process echoes how I feel about the multi-faceted issues of water. My presentation looks behind the scenes in the crafting of an idea and what it takes to bring it to life.

Debra Edgerton an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University. She received her two MFAs in Painting at the San Francisco Art Institute and Interdisciplinary Art at Vermont College. Her art practice addresses cultural identity, perception, imprinting of memory, displacement, and water issues. Edgerton’s recent artwork recontextualizes grief and loss for women of color. The spectacle of grief in media overshadows quiet despair, empathy, and humanity. She uses art as a mechanism to explore how we process information and its effect on emotional connections.

Ms. Edgerton currently is extending her research into algae and microorganisms and how the beginning of the fresh water aquatic food web can be studied for environmental and climate issues.

This online program is free, but space is limited. To register visit: https://bit.ly/AmerindOnline101621