Reforestation of the Imagination, by Ginny Ruffner with Grant Kirkpatrick

Artist talk with Seattle Arts and Technology, Saturday March 3 at 1pm.
Come experience the project and converse with the artists.

MadArt welcomes a new site-specific sculptural installation by Seattle-based artist Ginny Ruffner, in collaboration with new media artist Grant Kirkpatrick. Reforestation of the Imagination combines traditional glass and bronze sculpture with augmented reality. The artists use technology to overlay digital information onto sculptural objects, portraying two disparate worlds. The installation engages viewers’ curiosity as they navigate the space using handheld devices, exposing a forest regenerating from devastation. This imaginary and potential beauty revealed through augmented reality is the forest reimagining itself, a process which is not singular to a forest ecosystem, but also inherent to human creativity.

http://madartseattle.com/exhibits/reforestation/

Artist & collaborator bios:

Ginny Ruffner is a Seattle artist who originally received her MFA in painting from the University of Georgia. Ruffner has had over 80 solo shows, several hundred group shows, and her work is in 55 permanent museum and public collections around the world. Her Seattle public art installations include a 30-foot tall kinetic water feature downtown and a permanent installation in the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. Recent Augmented Reality projects include Weston Riff at Photo Center NW, Branches at Seattle International Film Festival, and Poetic Hybrids at the Seattle Art Museum. She has written two books and been the subject of an award-winning, full-length documentary titled A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story. Ruffner has lectured and taught extensively and served as an artist-in-residence numerous times at schools and universities around the world.

Grant Kirkpatrick is an emerging animator and new media artist based in Seattle. After studying at Cornish College of the Arts for three years, he graduated with a focus on motion design and animation. Coming from a fine arts background, Grant Kirkpatrick has considerable interest in the intersection of art and technology, particularly virtual reality, augmented reality, game design, and mixed media work.