Kitt Peak Workshop
As part of the IAAA’s commitment to the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) a number of projects were explored by the IAAA Ad Hoc IYA2009 Steering Committee consisting of Jackie Burns, Lynette Cook, Dave Hardy, Bill Hartmann, Bettina Forget, Ron Miller, Roy Scarfo and Kara Szathmary Project Manager & Single-Point-of-Contact (SPoC) between the IAAA and the IAU’s IYA2009.
Prior to the publication of the Artists’ Universe on November 11, 2008, on the IYA-USA website, a number of enquires began to be explored that further involved the IAAA in other special projects with the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). Beginning in October 2008 Doug Isbell, USA-SPoC to IYA2009 and NOAO Public Relations representative, sent an e-mail inviting the IAAA to brain storm for activities during IYA2009. Volleys of ideas lead him to ask whether art exhibitions at observatories would potentially attract attention as a possible educational outreach to the public. Previous experience by a few of our members, including Lynette Cook, hadn’t produced desirable effects concerning individual artists. Yet Bill Hartmann recalled that an exhibit at an observatory during the 1996 IAAA workshop at the Tenerife in the Canary Islands went very well. The IAAA already experienced a workshop in 1993 at the Mount Wilson Observatory, but that event didn’t include an exhibit.
Doug Isbell sent his exploratory report and the IAAA’s commitment to explore further IYA2009 USA projects to Elizabeth Alverez, NOAO and Kitt Peak National Observatory 50th Anniversary Steering Committee Chair. Elizabeth forwarded the series of e-mail exchanges to Pat Elaison, National Solar Observatory and Culture & Arts project lead for KPNO/NOAO 50th. Pat subsequently contacted Bill Hartmann at the Planetary Science Institute and invited him to join her subcommittee as a known Tucson space artist. Bill responded with a suggestion to have the NOAO consider hosting a workshop coupled with an exhibition at Kitt Peak to celebrate the 50th anniversary. His proposal was enthusiastically welcomed. The feasibility of such a venture needed to be explored and ultimately negotiated for technical efficiency. Kara began negotiations in earnest outlining past duties, responsibilities and obligations by workshop coordinators. The NOAO/KPNO committee organizers were directed to our website, iaaa.org, to review our mission statement, manifesto, history, and previous workshops which included Hawaii, continental USA, Iceland, Russia (former USSR), Tenerife Canary Islands Spain, England and Nicaragua. Bill was requested to represent the IAAA during any formal and/or informal meetings with Pat Elaison’s Cultural & Art Sub Committee in Tucson and report back any progress and/or questions to Kara.
Within a short time, another opportunity unfolded. David Valls-Gabaud, on behalf of the IYA2009 Scientific Committee sent an invitation to the IAAA-SPoC for IAAA participation in the International Astronomical Union Symposium 260: “The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture.” The invitation also included an opportunity for an exhibition at the UNESCO Center in Paris, France, during the symposium event scheduled for the third week of January, 2009. The symposium was focused on the relationship between the Arts and Astronomy, featuring artistic works inspired by cosmic phenomena. With Lionel Bret’s recruitment as our IAAA representative, the genre of space art was presented in Paris followed by an exhibition of IAAA art works at the center.
Several months passed with only tentative inklings of a possible time frame for a workshop either in the spring or the fall of 2009. A survey was conducted on the IAAA listserve for potential artists’ interest and/or commitment to attend the Kitt Peak workshop. Choices of dates were bounced around by a couple of dozen artists with differing priorities and time tables to attend the workshop.
By early summer, Bill reported that not much progress had been taking place with the Culture & Arts subcommittee, and it was apparent that the needed preparation time was passing if a 2009 workshop could be coordinated. Another enquiry was sent to Pat Elaison requesting whether a decision to host an IAAA workshop at Kitt Peak had been rendered. By mid August good news finally arrived. The workshop was approved and scheduled for late October. Further negotiations now escalated and began to review the terms and conditions of agreements between the IAAA and KPNO/NOAO.
In addition to e-mail exchanges, weekly video teleconferencing was requested so that a broader scope of mutual interests and intentions could be explored in a timely fashion. The issues at stake included the limitation of a dozen artists staying on the mountain in six dormitory rooms, the number of periodic rotations of the remaining artists in Tucson off the mountain if any, locations of exhibition venues and extra accesses to mountain locations, telescopic sites and astronomical facilities outside the visiting general public tours during the week.
The final roster of IAAA artists-in-residence was settled with eight attendees: John Clark (AZ), April Faires (WA), Tim Malles (FL), Bill Hartmann (AZ), John Ramer (CA), Michelle Rouch (AZ), Betsy Smith (NH) and Kara Szathmáry (FL). Video conferencing continued daily at the end of September, with the planning phase of the itinerary for the artists that included an outreach trip to the Tohono O’odham Reservation and a partnership day with visiting Tohono O’odham artists on the mountain during the week. Meanwhile, Michelle Rouch of Tucson was selected as the on site voice of the IAAA to assist Elizabeth Alverez, Aletha Kalish NOAO and Mary Guerrieri, Academic Affairs for the Department of Planetary Sciences and the Lunar Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, where the summative exhibition venue would be hosted at the Planetary Sciences Kuiper Atrium.
Julie Jones, Assistant to the IAAA Director of Exhibitions, was commissioned to design a horizontal IAAA exhibition banner 3 feet by 8 feet in span with our name, logo and title “Visions of the Cosmos” by way of a generous donation by Pamela Lee FIAAA. Bill Hartmann and Michelle Rouch kindly provided cover art for the announcement of the exhibition at the LPL Kuiper Atrium in collaboration with Mary Guerrieri LPL. Matched funding by the IAAA and KPNO/NOAO provided the means for the opening preview (vernissage) of the exhibition.
Next: Day 1