The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam Hosts Gallery Lecture for 'Environmental Impact' Exhibit

Clarkson University Faculty Member Dr. Stephen Bird Offers Lecture at SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery on Tuesday, Oct. 6

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The poster for an upcoming Gibson Gallery lecture by Dr. Stephen Bird can be seen here.

POTSDAM, NY (10/02/2015)(readMedia)-- The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam will welcome Dr. Stephen Bird, an associate professor of political science at Clarkson University, for a gallery lecture next week. The talk, titled "Art, Activism and the Environment: Understanding the Role of Art in Social Change," will be offered on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., in the Roland Gibson Gallery.

This lecture will be held in conjunction with the ongoing traveling exhibition, "Environmental Impact," which is on display now through Oct. 31 in the Gibson Gallery.

This event is free, and the public is invited to attend.

"Environmental Impact" is a traveling museum exhibition produced by David J. Wagner, which shares the work of leading contemporary artists whose work focuses on global, as well as local environmental issues. The exhibition is designed to heighten public awareness and concern about the intentional or unintentional consequences of human action or inaction.

Traditional art generally depicts nature in all of its glory, often in beautiful, pristine conditions. The 75 paintings, photographs, prints, installations and sculptures in "Environmental Impact" are different from traditional works of art, because they deal with numerous, ominous environmental issues, ranging from the implications of resource development and industrial scale consumption, to major oil spills, the perils of nuclear energy, diminishing water resources and climate change. To produce the show, curator David Wagner drew upon a diverse range of artists whose works are hard-hitting.

About the guest lecturer:

Dr. Stephen Bird joined Clarkson University in 2009. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in arranging and performance from the Berklee College of Music, a Master of Liberal Arts degree in government from Harvard University, and his Ph.D. in political science from Boston University. Before coming to Clarkson, Bird was a lecturer at Boston University, and an adjunct lecturer at Simmons College and Northeastern University. He was affiliated with Harvard University's Electricity Policy Group from 2001 to 2010. Bird was also an environmental policy analyst and consultant with the Massachusetts Environmental Affairs, and has advised the U.S. State Department and the European Commission as an energy policy specialist. Prior to his academic career, he worked for over a decade in art galleries and museums in the Boston area. His fields of study include energy and environmental politics and policy, social justice and activism, social networks, political behavior and pedagogy.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam serves as the center for visual arts at the College, and encompasses all of the collections found throughout campus, including in the Gibson Gallery. The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of quality works of art, and its collection includes significant artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries as well as earlier pieces. The mission of The Art Museum at The State University of New York at Potsdam is to make direct experience of the visual arts accessible to students, faculty, staff and alumni of the College, as well as to residents of Northern New York.

Admission to the Gibson Gallery, located at Brainerd Hall, is free, and the exhibition space is handicapped-accessible. The Art Museum is open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. on Monday and Friday, from noon until 7 p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday, and from noon until 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more information, call (315) 267-3290 or visit www.potsdam.edu/museum.

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community recently launched Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $32 million by the College's bicentennial in 2016.

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