Jenny Yurshansky | Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory

Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory investigates the distinction between native and invasive species as determined by the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee, a scientific organization charged with creating a statewide “living list” of invasive species since late 2009. The discourse surrounding a list of “invasive” or “alien” flora and fauna species has interesting and fruitful correlations to policies regarding immigration, multiculturalism, and evolving ideas about national identities that are inherently tied to the identity of border cultures. The project allows viewers to engage in a meaningful and nuanced way with how these issues are thought of in direct and applicable terms.

This exhibition takes a number of forms, including a comprehensive index of the invasive species found on-site, a large-scale projection—a portrait of all the plants collected and a record of their growth during June 2014, and a light-box image of their incubated sequestration. The exhibition also features two sculptural works, one of which is an index of the more than 100 plants collected, in the style of a classic botanical herbaria rendered in detailed handmade paper silhouettes. The second sculpture refers to the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, which is a window into the common presence in 1892 of what are now rare California native plants. This piece, which features a seemingly empty vitrine, is a nod to the fears of the ultimate disappearance of natives in the wake of the encroachment by alien species that fuels the discourse around this issue.

Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory- has been produced with support by Konstnärsnämnden / Swedish Arts Grant Committee.

The exhibition is also generously supported by the GuestHaus Residency, Kungliga Konsthögskolan/ Stockholm Royal Institute of Art, and art+environment – an interdisciplinary program at Pitzer College funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

With very special thanks to:

Pitzer College:

• Joe Clements, Arboretum and Grounds Manager, Pitzer College
• Ciara Ennis, Director/Curator, Pitzer College Art Galleries
• Dr. Paul Faulstich, Professor of Environmental Analysis, Pitzer College
• Nicolas Galindo, Lead Groundskeeper, Pitzer College
• Cheukwa Jones, Curatorial/PR Coordinator, Pitzer College Art Galleries
• Rachel Kessler ’14, Assistant to the artist, Pitzer College
• Dr. Muriel Poston, Vice President/Dean of Faculty, Pitzer College
• Lance Neckar, MLA, MALA, Director, Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability and Professor of Environmental Analysis, Pitzer College
• Angelica Perez, Preparator, Pitzer College Art Galleries

Pomona / BFS:

• Dr. Wallace M. Meyer III, Assistant Professor of Biology, Pomona College and Director of the Bernard Field Station, Claremont, CA
• Ronald Nemo, Lead Groundskeeper, Pomona College 

Harvey Mudd / BFS:

• Dr. Nancy V. Hamlett, Visiting Professor of Biology, Harvey Mudd College; Volunteer Researcher and Habitat Coordinator at the Bernard Field Station, Claremont, CA

Keck Science Department, Claremont Colleges:

• Dr. Susan M. Schenk, Biology Laboratory Instructor/Coordinator and Lab Lecturer of
  Biology, W.M. Keck Science Department, Claremont Colleges

Scripps College:

• Fred Carlson, Lead Groundskeeper, Scripps College
• Lola Trafecanty, Director of Grounds, Scripps College
• Liv Townsend ’14, Documentation Photographer, Scripps College

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden:

• Dr. J. Travis Columbus II, Research Scientist; Professor of Botany, Claremont Graduate University
• Nick Jensen, Master’s Student, Claremont Graduate University Botany Department
• Evan P. Meyer, Seed Conservation Program Manager, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• Dr. Jeffery Morawetz, Postdoctoral Researcher, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• Dr. Mare Nazaire, Herbarium Collections Manager, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
• Irene Holiman, Library Specialist, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Other Affiliations:

• Jenny Brown, Collection Manager, Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, Harvard University Herbaria
• Dr. Peter Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard; University and Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design
• Lisa DeCesare, Head of Archives and Public Services, Botany Libraries, Harvard University Herbaria
• Mary Anne Hamblen, Special Collections & Archives Librarian, Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library, The Corning Museum of Glass
• Dr. Chris MacDonald, Desert Natural Resources Advisor of Cooperative Extension San Bernardino County, University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Robert Perry, FASLA, USC School of Artchitecture Adjunct Professor, Professor Emeritus at California State Polytechnic University
• Nisreen Azar, Habitat Restoration Specialist at Glenn Lukos Associates, Inc.
• Noreen Murano, President of Wildscape Restoration, Inc. and the CEO of Resource Conservation Partners, Inc.
• Bill Neill, Desert Protective Council
• Drew Ready, Sustainable Landscape Program Manager at the Council for Watershed
  Health
   

Related Event

The Botany Seminar Series at Ranch Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Friday, March 6

Dr. Peter Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist, Arnold Arboretum at Harvard Universityand Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design

Image Caption

Installation view of Jenny Yurshansky- Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory at Pitzer College Art Galleries, January 24 – March 26, 2015.