For the second year in a row, MassArt’s talented studio art students have created works of art inspired by Mass Audubon’s Museum of American Bird Art collection.
About the Collaboration
Natasza Fontaine, visiting professor in the Department of Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts at MassArt asked the students in her course, “Sound & Color: Creatively Exploring Avian Diversity at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)” to look to MABA’s art collection as inspiration for their final projects with particular attention to anatomy, habitats, sound, colors, and scientific communication.
Natasza’s seminar focuses on the role of pigments in avian biology, the relationships between birds and their habitats, and the mysteries of avian sounds. Drawing inspiration from sound recordings, pigment studies, and habitat associations, this seminar uses biological illustrations as tools to explore avian diversity and communicate scientific information. Through the integration of art and science, students examine how visual and acoustic perspectives can deepen our understanding of birds and the natural world.
In collaboration with the Museum of American Bird Art, students explored selected works from the museum’s collection and created original pieces inspired by them. The students chose specific works and artists that inspired them, whether for their medium, design, composition, subject, or style. The result is a dynamic variety of personal, visual reflections as seen through the birds that inspired them and the individual artists who created them.
View the Art
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