February 19–April 6, 2014
Prichard Art Gallery
414 S. Main Street
Moscow, ID 83843
T +1 208 885 3586
www.uidaho.edu/caa/galleries/prichardartgallery
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The Prichard Art Gallery of the University of Idaho presents Lonnie Hutson, 38 Minus: The Idaho Fish Project, the first major exhibit of work by the Idaho artist Hutson. The Prichard Art Gallery is the organizer and premiere venue for this touring exhibit.
Hutson has been a leading river guide throughout the American West including Idaho’s Salmon River, the Grand Canyon and in Alaska’s ANWR and Copper River—renowned for its salmon runs. Hutson builds the trip’s wooden dories, requiring meticulous craftsmanship. In Alaska he makes plaster casts of bear prints that are bigger than your head. The abundance of Alaskan wildlife, supported by vibrant fish runs, contrast to the wildlife experience in the Lower 48. The alterations wrought on our environment drove Hutson to braid together his interests and earlier work with handmade paper into his current project.
38 Minus is the fulcrum point between critique and celebration; art and science; art and craft; ick and awe. Hutson creates cast paper relief sculptures of the 38 native species of Idaho fish. Fifty species have been introduced since the 1870s. The dialectic of native versus non-native has informed volumes of discourse. Hutson’s subtle twist into fish maintains the inherent strength within the position of native, thus celebrating the notion of a wild and scenic Idaho. The fact that a number of these species are threatened or endangered highlights systemic fragility stressed to the breaking point.
38 Minus requires the artist’s vision and scientist’s resources and knowledge. Working for more than four years Hutson navigated the intricacies of scientific credibility to gain access to species that range from a couple inches long to a six-foot white sturgeon. Fish so rare they are only available pickled in a jar from scientific collections; threatened fish caught up in eradication efforts against non-native species; fish Hutson thought he’d never get because of the bureaucratic obstacles, in the end all became available through persistence and networking.
Paper casting solved the problem of weight inherent in the plaster casts. With paper mills in the area, it expresses one of Idaho’s economic engines. In Hutson’s skilled hands the craft of papermaking is empowered with 7,000-year-old Mount Mazama ash and flecks of garnet. The treatment and imbedded materials create work that escapes the grasp of narrowly defined notions of craft versus art while manifesting all of the craft in the art.
Fish fundamentally challenge the human ability for empathy between species. The slime, the smell, their body-forms all create icky barriers to the experience of fish. Through layering, material selection and rich tonal range he heightens experiences of awe at the wonders of our natural world as seen in the smallest sculpin, through the chinook and steelhead to the awesome majesty of the sturgeon. Fish are the fulcrum point in the food chain, feeding on the smallest and fed on by the largest animals. Hutson focuses on this crucial link by representing fish that live in water through relief sculptures that would dissolve in water. 38 Minus: at the intersection of art, science, ick and awe.
38 Minus is accompanied by a 32-page full-color catalogue designed by Gail Siegel, with artist statement and essays by exhibit curator Roger Rowley, and UI Fisheries biologist Michel Quist. Available for tour, the exhibition is sponsored by the University of Idaho as part of its 125th anniversary. Additional sponsors include Western Division and Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Nez Perce Tribe. The Idaho Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment sponsors educational outreach programs for the Arts.
The Prichard Art Gallery plays a significant role in the cultural life of the state of Idaho and enriches the educational experience of university students as well as students participating in our docent outreach programs. 38 Minus tours are led by a collaborative team of art and science experts.
