Dornith Doherty, 2016 Texas State Artist – 2D and 2012 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, will visit the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art on Thursday, Feb. 3. As part of her visit, Doherty will offer a public lecture on her work bridging art and science at 5 p.m. that day in the Lower Art Building, Room 106. The lecture is open to the public free of charge, and masks are strongly encouraged.
Doherty works with photography, video and scientific imaging to visualize the questions that are often left invisible when considering human entanglement in changing environments. Her project “Archiving Eden,” which documents and explores the collections of seed storage facilities around the world using both traditional photographs and x-ray images, was published in book form in 2017. Her current project, “Atlas of the Invisible,” incorporates images of migratory bird feathers and insect wings made with a scanning electron microscope to better understand the earth’s atmosphere. Selections of Doherty’s work are on view as part of an invitational exhibit, “Respire,” showing Jan. 25 through March 20 at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, 329 E. Main St., SFA’s art gallery in downtown Nacogdoches.
Doherty was born in Houston and received a B.A. cum laude from Rice University and a M.F.A. in photography from Yale University. She is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of North Texas. In addition to the Guggenheim Fellowship, she has also received grants from the Fulbright Foundation, the Japan Foundation, the Indiana Arts Commission, and the United States Department of the Interior, the University of North Texas, and the Houston Center for Photography.
Doherty’s visit is part of an interdisciplinary pilot project in Emerging Photographic Technologies, funded through the SFA President’s Innovation Fund. The pilot project has included collaborations between art, astronomy and biology, making images using drones, telescopes and microscopes.
For more information, contact the School of Art at (936) 468-5500.
