–ABOUT MEG WEBSTER–

Meg Webster is an American artist that primarily creates installation art and sculptures. Webster was born in San Francisco in 1944. She attended Old Dominion University where she got her Bachelors in Fine Arts. Her original focus was painting. However, she later changed her artistic focus to sculpture art. Webster than began her pursuit of a Master of Arts degree at Yale University. She completed her Masters degree in the early 1980’s. She has many other works of art. Since she is best known for her land based installation art and sculptures these types of art is what you will mainly find when looking at her portfolio. One of her other works, Cono Di Sale, was created by Webster in 1988. The installation was unveiled at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The dimensions of this particular piece include a height of 72 inches with a diameter of 96 inches. This piece illustrates post-minimalism. The medium of this work is salt to elaborate the use of minerals and materials we take from the earth. Webster does not have one specific piece she’s best known for. Instead she is best known for any of her works that involve the environment. Meg Webster receives a lot of high praise for her outspoken positions for environmental change and improvement. This is what most of her work is influenced by. One piece in particular that holds this influence is her most recent project. Concave Room for Bees, (2016). This installation piece is located at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York City. It is a circular earthen mound that is 70 feet in diameter that is 5 feet in height. It is created out of over 300 cubic yards of soil that consists of flowers, plants, and shrubs that attract pollinating creatures.

–ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE–

Like the work above you can tell that Webster cares greatly about the environment throughout her whole career. This also really shines in the art piece she did for Western titled Untitled 1990. What was happening in this time period well  the main thing that shaped Webster’s  idea to make this would be all the environmental action and issues that were faced during this time. In the journal  “Environmental Education for Sustainability ”Defining the New Focus of Environmental Education in the 1990’s. The author talks about the new amendments added to the Clean Air Act from the 1960’s. Some of the amendments  include programs for Acid Deposition Control, a program to control 189 toxic pollutants, including those previously regulated by the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and expanded Air Quality Standards and a few other things. So it was a big year to try to push environmental change before the 20th century. Also why do would she want to do an art piece for Western? Well, the Huxley College of the Environment, officially open in the early 1970’s and was the nation’s first dedicated environmental science college and was gaining a lot of traction over the years. Which many people who were passionate about the environment would start to go.This was a very big step in the world of the environment. Meg Webster stared here career in the 1980’s after getting her Master by working to make pieces with school so you can see how Webster would be the perfect match for that time period.    

 –ARTIST STATEMENT–

With this piece we wanted to illustrate the movement that can be interpreted from it when observed. Our short animation details and outward movement from the center. We show that with this piece that there is fluidity and motion. Meg Webster has always been very adamant about advocating for the environmental movement and change. This is a never ending challenge against those who oppose environmental improvement. We show this animation in a loop to portray this.

 –WORK CITED–

“Cono Di Sale.” Guggenheim, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 14 May 2019, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/4187.

Meg Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2019, from https://www.paulacoopergallery.com/artists/meg-webster/slideshow#1

Merriman, P., & Webster, C. (n.d.). Travel projects: Landscape, art, movement – Peter Merriman, Catrin Webster, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2019, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1474474009340120

Tilbury, Daniella. “Environmental Education for Sustainability: Defining the New Focus of Environmental Education in the 1990s.” Environmental Education Research, vol. 1, no. 2, 1995, pp. 195–212., doi:10.1080/1350462950010206.

— CREATED BY–

Carson Brock, Carson Porter-Keese, James Johnson