Show Preview | National Weather Center Biennale

National Weather Center Atrium, Norman, OK
April 22-June 2

Roger Edwards, Lightning on Cheyenne Ridge, photograph, 8 x 12.

Roger Edwards, Lightning on Cheyenne Ridge, photograph, 8 x 12.

This story was featured in the May 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art May 2013 print issue, or get the Southwest Art May 2013 digital download now…Or better yet, just subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!

From landscape paintings featuring billowing clouds to photographs showing the aftermath of devastating natural disasters, humans frequently explore the weather through art. This Earth Day, artists from across the U.S. and abroad display their interpretations of weather in the first-ever National Weather Center Biennale art show. The show opens on April 22 at the National Weather Center Atrium in Norman, OK, and features 100 works highlighting the impact of weather on the human experience.

Debby Kaspari, Rise, acrylic, 12 x 12.

Debby Kaspari, Rise, acrylic, 12 x 12.

The show is sponsored by the National Weather Center, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, and the Norman Arts Council—a collaboration that curator Alan Atkinson says resulted from “one of those perfect art storm moments.” The featured works were juried from more than 700 entries in three categories: paintings, photographs, and works on paper. Mediums on display include oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, pastel, hand-pulled prints, and photographs. A total of $25,000 in prizes is handed out—an overall Best of Show and a first-place award in each media category.

For subject matter, the only specification is that works fall under the theme of art as a window to the impact of weather on the human experience. “We wanted to see the weather depicted not just as a beautiful natural phenomenon, but also something that affects man’s experience of the world,” Atkinson says. The broad theme also brought out a range of artistic messages and ideas, from the personal to the political. “Some artists are looking at weather in a deeply personal way by showing us images of their own real-life experiences, while others use weather metaphorically to talk about human emotions or moods, and some use weather as a way to communicate a political message about what’s happening to our planet,” Atkinson says. But no matter how each individual interprets the theme, Atkinson hopes that viewers will leave the show “feeling like their experience of being a human has been enlarged.” —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
www.nwcbiennale.org

Featured in the May 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art May 2013 digital download
Southwest Art May 2013 print issue
Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!
M.J. Alexander, Cloud Cabin, photograph, 30 x 20.