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Capturing pulse of landscapeExhibits in gardenLAb experiment illuminate Southland ecology, issuesBy Cindy Chang , Staff WriterPASADENA --
Newspaper clippings from the past year at the entrance to a former airplane-testing facility tell the story of a natural environment manipulated by people seeking to exploit it and others seeking to protect it, yet is still in large part governed by its own internal rhythms.
What follows as visitors enter the former wind tunnel is exhibits from local artists, architects, gardeners, intellectuals and activists that illustrate the diversity of the Southern California landscape and the issues that face it.
The exhibits are the core of "the gardenLAb experiment,' the latest installment by two Art Center faculty members to encourage dialogue about ecological issues. GardenLAb, which opened Tuesday and will continue through Oct. 16 at the Art Center's Wind Tunnel space at 950 S. Raymond Ave., will also feature speakers, film showings and exhibit tours each Saturday.
The 19,000-square-foot Wind Tunnel space has been laid out to mimic a Southern California landscape never far from view, even in the most urbanized part of Los Angeles. One exhibit incorporates a sandy beach and another a desert scene, with cardboard tubes simulating mountains lining the back wall.
"In L.A., we're in a unique position to think about our ecological relationship to nature. We can't avoid it, versus a place like New York which is almost entirely man-made,' said Fritz Haeg, an Art Center faculty member and co-founder of gardenLAb. "In L.A., you're constantly aware of natural forms rubbing up against man- made needs.'
Some of the gardenLAb exhibits comment on issues, others suggest solutions to those issues and still others simply illustrate the beauty of natural organisms.
The sandy-beach exhibit was a pointed dig at wealthy Malibu residents seeking to restrict access to public beaches, with humorous variants of "Keep Out' signs and a small sandbox area for young visitors to play.
Perhaps the most eye-catching exhibit was a large portrait of President George W. Bush, made from 1,200 tiny loaves of bread. The exhibit, "Starch Reality,' uses a simple life form, mold, to make a political statement: The Bush administration's environmental policies, taken as a whole, will have unforeseen consequences, according to the exhibit's creator, architect Michael Pinto.
For more information about "the gardenLAb experiment,' visit www.gardenLAb.org
-- Cindy Chang can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4586, or by e-mail at cindy.chang@sgvn.com .
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