MMH: It seems to me that contemporary art is one of the least effective ways to be an activist or to change the world. What role do you see your students having both within the art world and in society?

CPH: My father, a corporate lawyer, started an environmental law firm, which has grown to be EarthJustice. He would say we need all forms of engagement. He practiced in his own manner to save the earth, but he was grateful for all kinds of expression. I think you can’t measure varying degrees of effectiveness. My father has saved more land than I ever will, but my work might be the thing that speaks to the next Al Gore, who then makes the next Nobel Prize winning gesture. You just don’t know. I think contemporary art is a conversation that sometimes leaks out to the larger world. We have created a program which redefines contemporary art as being sited IN the larger world. My spring studio course consists of three client-based projects. We will work with the Albuquerque Metropolitan Flood Control Agency, with a local agency promoting walkability to fight obesity and with the Bosque Environmental Monitoring Program, working with bats in the Bosque. Students will be making work collaboratively with these organizations, some of which will be installed on site.

MMH:? We seemed to have reached a point where basic environmental concerns are on the minds of every American. What role do you see for ecological art in the future and what are some directions that artists should address?

CPH: Food and water. Climate change. The basics are a good place to start. If our program is a good bellwether, I think in the future, ecological art will become part of our common vocabulary. We seek to train people who will be effective interdisciplinary artists, working in teams and able to contribute to all kinds of public and private processes. We seek an expanded role, beyond the confines of galleries or art publications. The Sandoval County Flood Control Agency, here in New Mexico, hired two artists to help them with their next several large flood control projects. I am inspired by the example of Mary Miss and her proposals for water treatment and exposing infrastructure. This can be a tremendous sea change for contemporary art and for the role of the artist.

~ Catherine Page Harris interviewed at Art21