The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
Please use this format to complete your progress report:
1. Summary of the project to date.
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Ansel Adams: A Legacy exhibition at the Fralin Museum of Art
o Curated by Bill Wylie and Bill Sherman
o 1st rotation opened on June 7, 2013; 2nd rotation opened on August 16, 2013; closes on
October 13, 2013
Looking at the New West: Contemporary Landscape Photography exhibition at the Fralin
Museum of Art
o Curated by Bill Wylie and Bill Sherman
o June 7 –December 15, 2013
Reunions Weekend Special Tour of the Ansel Adams Exhibit
o June 8, 2013 | 2 - 3 pm Fralin Museum of Art
o Approximately 80 visitors
Opening reception for the Photography exhibits at the Fralin Museum of Art
o Held on June 15, 2013 in collaboration with Look3 Festival
o Approximately 200 guests
OpenGrounds Forum: Art and Environmental Action: Changing Views: Photography and
Environmental Action
o September 27, 2013 | 10 am – 1 pm,
Dome Room of the Rotunda
o Forum Publication: Changing Views
 With contributions from each of the Forum participants
 64 pages, including 3 photography portfolios and four essays
o Forum Participants
 Finis Dunaway, a cultural philosopher from Trent University,
 Artist Mike Osborne, whose work is featured in the “Looking at the New West”
exhibit
 Artist Terri Weifenbach
 Brian Richter, the Director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature
Conservancy
 Julie Bargmann, an internationally recognized landscape architect, designer, and
UVa faculty member.
o Approximately 60 attendees
Photography Challenge: Changing Views: Looking at Charlottesville
o August 16 – September 27, 2013
o Received 130 submissions
o Forum participants selected the top 3 submissions:
 1st Place: tree stump, Cobham, VA by John Quale, UVA Faculty member
 2nd place: Agree to Coexist Downtown by Janet Johnson, Community member
 3rd place: Northwood Circle, 2013 by Elise Sokolowsk, UVA Student
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
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Tour of the Ansel Adams Exhibit
o September 28, 2013 | 2 - 3 pm Fralin Museum of Art
o Approximately 150 visitors
Student Scholars program
o RFP was sent out on September 27, 2013; Proposals were due on November 15, 2013.
o 13 proposals were reviewed by faculty members from religious studies and
environmental sciences, medicine, studio art, landscape architecture, engineering and
commerce; as well as one member of the Jefferson Trust.
o The selected students and projects are:
 Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture
candidates, “The Infrastructural Wild”
 Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies,
“Carbon Feed”
 Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies,
“Community Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
 The review panel also selected three honorable mention projects, proposed by:
 Fourth-year undergraduate architecture student Clint Lees;
 Third-year undergraduate engineering student Caitlin Crawford; and
 Master of Landscape Architecture student Amanda Coen. OpenGrounds
helped to connect Amanda with the Center for Global Health, and she
received support for her project on Environmental Health and
Sustainable Development in Ghana as a 2014 Center for Global Health
Scholar.
o The Student Scholars received funding from the VPR Office in order to attend and
participate in the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities’ Emerging Creatives
Student Conference at Stanford University in January 2014.
o In May, OpenGrounds organized a “Work-in-progress” session for the student scholars,
their advisors, and members of the review panel. This conversation provided important
input for the students as they prepared to spend their summers working on their
projects.
o Projects concluded in September 2014 with an exhibit of the students’ work at
CitySpace on the Downtown Mall as well as a presentation and reception at
OpenGrounds. See below for more information from the students with regards to their
projects.
Student Scholars Project Summaries
o Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
We have identified, researched, explored, and observed three sites of abandoned
transportation infrastructure that correspond to the infrastructural development of Virginia
and settlement of the state along the James River. Additionally, we have documented one of
these sites, an abandoned rail line in Virginia Beach, through a process of obsessive drawing,
and have exhibited these drawings at the gallery at City Space and on our website
(http://cargocollective.com/infrastructuralwild)
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
o
Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
#Carbonfeed is a new media installation housed at four University libraries across Grounds
throughout the month of September 2014. The project converts real-time tweets into music
and releases each tweet’s carbon equivalent of air into water-filled cylinders. The project
also has an online presence, where people may not just learn about the project and its
education goals, but listen to their own Twitter feeds. (http://carbonfeed.org)
o
Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Community
Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
Community Listening in Isle Royale National Park traces how I became part of a citizen
science relationship founded on listening. The scientists involved in this project are the
primary investigators in the five-decade long wolf/moose project, the longest continuous
wildlife study in the world. The primary way these researchers determine clues of wolf
reproduction is to listen for the sounds of group howling during the summer months. For
these clues, the researchers ears, or “antennas” as they put it, tap into a network of visitors
and employees who are scattered across the island, listening. This listening network is
directly tied to the ecological well-being of the park, which is currently at risk of major
change because the wolves, who play a vital role, are on the brink of “blinking-out” due to
global climate change.
2. Total cost to date for the project?
$80,000 ($58,000 from the Jefferson Trust allocation)
3. Is the project completed at this time? If not, when do expect to see the project
completed?
OpenGrounds considers the project to be completed. However, all the Student Scholars have
each expressed the ways in which their projects will continue on.
o
Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
One portion of this project is completed – the representation of the Virginia Beach
abandoned rail line through drawing. However, this project has been all about process for us
- the process of finding. Through research in the library, aerial explorations in Google Earth,
and both preliminary and in depth site exploration, this project has enabled us to develop a
process/methodology for reading the landscape. We plan to complete our work on the
other two sites that we are in process of applying this methodology to, and plan to replicate
and refine this methodology on other sites. In terms of time frame, over the course of the
next year we would like to complete a set of drawings similar to the ones made for the
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
Virginia Beach rail site for the Short Pump abandoned road site. Following that, we hope to
return to the Lynchburg Canal site to finish the steps in close reading that our needed to
take it to the same level of completion as has been reached for the first site.
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Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
The project is complete and has been installed at four libraries across Grounds (Aug. 29 –
Sept. 26). I am in the process of applying for more installations of #Carbonfeed at other
institutions.
o
Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Community
Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
Acoustic Ecologist Berry Truax taught me that sounds change physically as they travel
through spaces and that they shape, and are shaped by, webs of relationships between
people and things across socio-cultural contexts. From this, I started working on Community
Listening in Isle Royale National Park with 2 specific end goals in mind – to make an
ethnographic sound composition that tells this story and to make a web environment where
users can peruse my sound research. I’ll meet these goals but this project has turned into
something much larger. I don’t think I’ll ever be finished with it. It’s to complicated.
4. If there is an available remaining balance, how much do you plan to spend?
There is no remaining balance.
5. What problems, if any, have you faced as you rolled out the project?
OpenGrounds did not face any problems as we rolled out the project. The Student Scholars have
commented on some of the challenges they faced in completing their projects:
o
Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
We faced challenges in terms of finding sites that met all of our criteria. They needed to
support our narrative about the evolution of transportation infrastructure and its role in the
development of Virginia. Additionally, they needed to meet both our standards of
melancholy beauty and be legible in the drawn form (certain plant communities while
beautiful on site proved very difficult to capture in drawing). Lastly, they needed to be
places we could access without putting ourselves in significant danger (some places we
explored are still adjacent to active transportation infrastructure)
The only thing that we would categorize as a problem was that Rae got sick and was
hospitalized in at the beginning of August. This caused us to reevaluate the scope of what
we could complete in time for September exhibit. In the end though, this only forced us to
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
tighten up our work and sharpen our focus, which may have actually aided us in terms of
legibility for this particular format.
o
Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
The installation week was intense. Having a collaborator out from Oregon for the install was
extremely helpful, but last minute decisions had to be made. This is the nature of
installation work, but both John Park and I were happy with the outcome of the Music
Library install. If I had to change one thing, I would have bought a Mac Mini for the project
as one of the laptops burnt out at one of the installation locations. Mac Minis are known for
their durability with intense work loads for extended periods of time (e.g. month-long
install).
6. What was the total number of people working on the project?
30, including OpenGrounds staff, collaborating faculty, Student Scholars and their collaborators.
7. How many students were involved in the project?
It is hard to know the exact number of students who have been involved in the project. See
below for more information re: student attendance at events at the Fralin Museum. 10
OpenGrounds student interns have assisted with administering various components of the
project (photographing events, publicizing events, etc.). 15 students (13 projects) applied for the
Student Scholars program, and 4 students received funding through the program.
8. What successes can you report coming out of the project? How many people did the
project impact? Do you feel that the project has had an impact on the University and /or
the University community?
The attendance records at the Fralin Museum of Art broke records throughout the run of the
Ansel Adams exhibit:
 Total visitors for August broke 2400, another record for the museum.
 Students who came to "Final Fridays" August: 608, the best opening for Final Friday
ever.
 Students who came to "Final Fridays" Sept: 468
 K-12 (Writer's Eye program) students coming to see all Fralin exhibitions between SeptNov, 2013: 3,000+
 University students coming with a class to see all exhibitions: 94
 University students coming with a class for just Ansel Adams: 68
 Adults on Stephen Margulies tour of Ansel Adams Sept 10th: 24
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
The Photography Challenge received 130 submissions from students, faculty, staff, and
community members. 1st prize went to a UVA faculty member, 2nd prize to a student, and 3rd
prize to a community member.
The Forum publication included essays and photography from 17 artists and scholars. Each of
these people will be sent copies of the publication, which they will be able to share with their
own communities.
The Forum drew an audience of 60 eager and engaged attendees, including a group of High
School students who travelled from Lynchburg for the event. The participants all expressed their
gratitude for being invited to participate in what they found to be a rich and meaningful
discussion, and a well-organized and overall enjoyable experience. Gweneth West, former chair
of the Faculty Senate, told us that she felt the Forum was the most interested conversation she
has ever attended in her time at UVA.
We feel that the project has had a significant impact on the University community, and we are
pleased with the work that has come out of the pilot of the OpenGrounds Student Scholars
program. The students have commented on their projects’ successes and impacts:
o
Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
We can report a multitude of successes. Among them: an introduction to people and
projects pursuing fascinating work we would otherwise be unaware of; development of a
new process for getting to know a site; establishment of a method of representing the
unrecognized beauty of a site; a more advanced ability to read the landscape; and a refined
set of drawings that effectively communicate the site.
It’s hard to say how many people the project impacted. We don’t know how many people
have visited the exhibit, how many will visit it or the website, and how many people will see
future showings of this exhibit or other versions as applied to different sites. Additionally, it
is impossible to know how many of the people who view the work will come out of it with a
new way of seeing abandoned spaces.
Without doubt though, the project has had a profound impact on the way the two of us
explore a site. From discussions with others who have seen the exhibit, and with whom we
have discussed the work, we believe it is also reframing the way they perceive abandoned
infrastructural spaces, and for designers, introducing new ways of exploring a site.
Working with Jon and Erik has been a wonderful opportunity for us to engage with the
larger university community. As MLAs, we don’t often get out of the architecture school, so
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
it’s been great to meet them, and learn about their work and their process. Likewise,
connecting with other Jefferson Trust recipients, and the funders themselves this Spring was
a valuable experience that introduced us to a range of interesting projects taking place
within the larger University community. Having the chance to represent the University to
the wider academic community at the a2ru conference, was also a fabulous way for us to
learn from other curious and creative emerging artists, designers, and researchers. (This
maybe says more about how the University/University community has impacted us/the
project than the other way around)
o
Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
#Carbonfeed was a success with those who experienced the main installation in the Music
Library. The installation satisfied the vision of the project, and has been technically running
throughout the month of September. We have seen people tweet #carbonfeed in interest of
the project, heard the project on UVa radio, and seen the project featured on NBC 29’s
coverage of the OpenGrounds First Friday opening at CitySpace.
The installation was housed at four libraries across Grounds for one month, and the project
was placed in high traffic areas inside each library. The library staff at Fine Arts and Music
have made positive comments about the success and impact of the installation. Beyond this,
there have been 200 unique visitors to the website and 61 tweets with the project title
#carbonfeed.
While I am unable to quantify any decrease in carbon emissions related to the project, I was
able to qualitatively collect feedback from library staff and read through comments/tweets
online. The result has been extremely positive.
o
Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Community
Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
The success of this project lies in how it creates a space for people to think about the issues
embedded within it. This project explains a dense story about deep listening, citizen science,
wolves, wilderness, National Park policy, the aesthetics of place, spirituality, change,
interconnection, and togetherness.
9. Are there plans for the project to continue once this funding cycle is complete? If so,
what are those plans?
This project has become a model for future projects and collaborations in the way it wove
together many different types of programs, from the Ansel Adams exhibit, to the OpenGrounds
Forum and publication, the Photography Challenge, and the Student Scholars program. We have
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
recently launched a similarly complex and collaborative project with The Phillips Collection, the
National Academy of Sciences, the Contemplative Sciences Center, and the Fralin Museum of
Art, on the theme of “Art, Contemplation and Wellness”. We are also pursuing funding for the
Student Scholars program to become a consistent OpenGrounds program.
The Art and Environmental Action Student Scholars also have plans to continue their projects:
o
Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
We have reached out to the Virginia Beach Historical Society, which is located adjacent to
our Virginia Beach site, and are looking into the possibility of exhibiting our drawings there
or at the public library as a way of bringing our interpretation of the site back to the
community in which it is situated.
Additionally, we are planning to complete cultural landscape reports for all three sites – the
rail in Virginia Beach, the road in Short Pump, and the canal in Lynchburg – and submit them
to the Cultural Landscape Foundation to serve as a resource for landscape architects,
architectural historians, and other interested parties.
Lastly, we see the possibility of this project evolving and growing to take on other sites
throughout the country. Through this work we have developed a methodology that can be
applied anywhere and incorporated into our professional practices.
o
Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
#Carbonfeed will be installed at Hamilton College on Oct. 10-11 for Hamilton’s Parents
Weekend and ribbon cutting ceremony of its new studio arts facility. There will be at least
several hundred in attendance. Additional applications are in the works to have the project
installed in other locations.
o
Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Community
Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
I will continue to work on this project for a long time to come.
10. Any other comments that you would like to share concerning this project:
Thank you so much for your support in making this project possible! We are deeply grateful to
the Jefferson Trust for their generosity and support.
We asked the Student Scholars to tell us about the value of this opportunity personally,
creatively, and professionally. We thought you would enjoy hearing their responses:
o
Gwendolyn McGinn and Rachel Vassar, Master of Landscape Architecture candidates,
“The Infrastructural Wild”
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/
The Jefferson Trust
Progress Report
Creatively, it has enabled us to develop methods of representation that we are excited
about working with in the future, and applying to both professional and independent
projects.
Professionally, it has allowed us to visualize our sensibility about seeing the landscape, and
better express our interests in the existing beauty of abandoned landscapes, the possibilities
for the multifunctionality of urban infrastructure, and the power of representation to
influence perception. As recent grads, we have found showing finished and preliminary
drawings in the interview process has been a wonderful way to share these ideas and start
very fruitful conversations.
o
Jon Bellona, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Carbon
Feed”
#Carbonfeed represents a cross discipline (Music & Digital Art), multi-institution
collaboration between the University of Virginia and the University of Oregon. Working on
the project I have developed skills in data mapping, node.js, and command line (bash)
programming, which will serve future projects. The sound art nature of the work serves as a
contribution to my field of computer music. Personally, I learned enough about carbon
emissions to speak confidently about the topic. I’ve come to understand the varying degrees
of carbon emissions that our behaviors cost, and I am finding ways to effectively cut my
emissions as well as help others too.
o
Erik DeLuca, a Ph.D. candidate in composition and computer technologies, “Community
Listening in the Isle Royale National Park”
This opportunity has afforded me the time to make this project. Personally, I’ve learned that
specific goals set at the beginning of a project change and that it is my responsibility to allow
those changes to happen. Creatively, this project as spawned a number of new projects that
I am currently working on. Professionally, I think this project will help me secure a job.
Progress reports and any additional information related to your grant may be uploaded through the
Jefferson Trust website: http://jeffersontrust.org/grant-recipient/