Exhibit to feature artwork inspired by oral histories from Arizona's oldest botanical garden
The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is the oldest and largest botanical garden in Arizona. Photo courtesy of Erin Craft
Though it is Arizona's largest botanical garden and has been an established touchstone of the community for more than 100 years, many students in Arizona State University Professor Ellen Meissinger's ART 427/527: Art on Paper class didn't even know the Boyce Thompson Arboretum existed.
That is, until the School of Art students were given an assignment in which they collaborated with students from ASU's School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies' public history program to create artwork reflecting the arboretum’s historical significance and unique sense of placeA concept that describes how people relate to a place, referring to both a characteristic of a place and a feeling or perception people hold..
In a separate 2023 project, students from the public history program had documented oral histories of the arboretum’s key stakeholders and employees in partnership with the Desert Humanities Initiative. This year, the School of Art students took those oral histories and transformed them into works of art.
An exhibit featuring the results will be on display at Noble Library on ASU's Tempe campus from Jan. 13–Feb. 27, and at the Fletcher Library on ASU's West Valley campus from March 17–April 11.
The students first learned about oral histories with Associate Professor Mark Tebeau, and were then split into research groups, each assigned two oral histories. This gave students not only historical context for the arboretum, Meissinger said, but also revealed a personal and emotional connection that so many share.
Students then visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, receiving both a guided tour and the opportunity to explore the space themselves.
“They were kind of awestruck at how large it was, how diverse,” Meissinger said, “and they immediately started making these connections back to the oral histories.”
She was surprised at the memories this project evoked for some students — connections to past experiences, personal interests and classes like botany, history and geology that they had taken in the past. She encouraged them to consider all these complex aspects in their artwork.
Elaine Briant, a senior studying painting and drawing, also reflected on the arboretum’s enduring nature and rich history. She painted a lake scene, with the water reflecting the arboretum’s history, the copper that nourishes the area and the space’s rich diversity.
“We all had the same assignment, listened to the same histories, went on the same tour,” she said, “and that’s what I think is so interesting about this exhibit, is to look to see how everyone interpreted it completely differently.”
Rafael Rios, a senior studying animation, was assigned oral histories of employees from different stages of the arboretum’s past. They detailed obstacles the employees faced, which Rios said showed that the arboretum isn’t only a physical space; it’s also made up of the people who shaped it.
Rios’ artwork reflected this, depicting new growth budding around dead, decaying foliage. They said this represents that, though the arboretum has faced hardships, though its employees didn’t always know what decision to make, the arboretum persevered far past any individual contribution.
“Telling history is really important within art spaces,” Rios said. “Art isn’t something that is inherently valued in society, but it is so integral to our experience as people. And being able to tell multiple people’s story through artwork, like with this project, goes to show how important it is to have these stories not only heard, but also visualized.”
This art project is the most recent of Meissinger’s that spans multiple disciplines, having worked with sustainability related to vintage and discarded maps in the past. Though she’s also spent time studying gardens, she said the oral histories provided a connection to communities she hasn’t experienced in her previous work.
“I hope this does really encourage people to think about art in a different way,” Meissinger said, “and to think about the kind of value of what we have close to home.”
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Artwork by Rafael Rios, Marianna Dávila López, Emilie Isaacson, Fiala Richard and Emily Woodruff in ART 427/527.
Photo courtesy of Julia Taylor
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Artwork by Olivia Marcon, Jonah R. Singh, Elaine Marie Briant and Ashley Latin in ART 427/527.
Photo courtesy of Julia Taylor
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Artwork by Aileen Sanchez, Koell K. Smith, Sara R. Simon and Noëlle van Hove in ART 427/527.
Photo courtesy of Julia Taylor
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Artwork by Maya Love, Shannon H. Whalen, Eatta Robin, Avery L. Peters and Claire C. Gramling in ART 427/527.
Photo courtesy of Julia Taylor
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Artwork by Keirya C. Fales in ART 427/527.
Photo courtesy of Julia Taylor
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