Nooksack Middle Fork by Claude Zervas – Installed in the WWU Performing Arts Center
Going Into the art itself – “Middle Fork – Nooksack River – Art 109” – We wanted to explore the origins of the piece itself so we went to the Nooksack River in Nooksack, WA and explored where the art was made. This video details our adventure at the river. Song: Silence by Marshmello ft. Khalid
About Claude Zervas
This piece was created by Claude Zervas in 2015. Zervas was born in Washington in 1963 and attended WWU in the 1980’s where he studied art. Directly after his college career, he moved to Paris, France where he worked as a software engineer. Not long after moving to Paris, Zervas returned to Washington to settle down in Seattle, where he still lives today. However, Zervas’ time working as an engineer was not wasted. Zervas has been able to incorporate much of his knowledge and familiarity with complex technology into his art, by use of fluorescent lights to illuminate his work and using TV screens to project his pieces. After returning to Seattle, Zervas started back up on his art, which was influenced by his time spent as an engineer.
As an artist, Zervas is known for his incorporation of light and nature in his art. His art was largely influenced by the environment that he was brought up in as he grew up on a large farm in Deming, Washington. Zervas was raised relatively near the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River. The river is near Lake Whatcom and is an important part the environment in that area as it supplies Bellingham’s drinking water (Wikipedia, P.1). As Zervas grew up surrounded by nature, nature plays an important part in his value system and therefore the art he creates. Both the time he spent in France and his time in Washington impact his artwork in the way that he juxtaposes aspects of technology with aspects of nature. This is apparent in the Nooksack Middle Fork, as Zervas displayed features of technology such as multiple televisions and video footage, alongside natural scenes such as river, forests, and riverbanks.
The period of time in which a piece of artwork is created greatly shapes it. In 2015, climate change has been becoming a growing issue throughout the world. The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference resulted in the creation of the Paris agreement which “aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.” (United p.1) With climate change taking effect in recent years and still today we can see a noticeable difference in nature. As climate change has widely affected Paris and Washington where he has spent most of his life, and the natural world that affects his artwork, it’s rise in recent years has impacted him and his art. Zervas remarks that “Maybe those memories and just the sensibility of the places creep through. And maybe because of the change I see in it every time I come back to visit, there’s a little bit of sadness involved in it.” (Bikman qtd Zervas p.1) In other words, Zervas documented the beauty of Nooksack in his piece Middle Fork and experiences heartache each time he sees the effect that climate change has on the environment.
Sources
Bellingham Herald – New public art by Claude Zervas at WWU .
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations, General Assembly, 1992.
Clark-Langager, Sarah A. Sculpture: university public art collection. Western Washington University, 2014.
Blog Credits
Video Editor: Bianca Vaca
History, Sculpture Researcher, Transporter: Lexi Mauney
Cameraman and Admin: Logan Barnes
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