Colossal: Washington-based artist and researcher Heidi Gustafson forages, processes, and catalogs natural mineral samples for the Early Futures Ocher Archive. Ranging in color based on its elemental structure, ochre is crushed into a powder and used in various applications from art to medicine. With over 550 samples, Gustafson’s ever-growing archive has become a collaborative project with contributions from archaeologists, scientists, and creatives from around the world.
2 comments:
This is the most random yet amazing article I have ever seen. For one thing, the pictures are extremely satisfying to look at. I would love to visit this woman's home or lab to see her collections of ochre. The way she has the reds and oranges arranged it so pleasing to look at. However, she also takes into consideration the elements that compose these samples, and she processes that information into the way she categorizes them. It means a lot that she got into this after moving to the Pacific Northwest. To me, this area of our country is so naturally beautiful and untouched (to use a word lightly), and I always feel refreshed when visiting or viewing this area. And it's probably because I'm walking on Earth that has a color palette as vast as this one! If I were her, I'd probably want to keep this dirt too. Earth tones always remind me of the origins of pigment making, when visible art was truly a form of communication. It absolutely still is today, but at the time when people were mixing the pigments in dirt to make paint, verbal communication was underdeveloped. Now, we still collect that beautifully colored dirt, and I think it's lovely that this woman appreciates it as much as she does.
The archive that this woman has started is wonderful. Art and beauty take their roots in nature, and looking at these ochre pigments that beauty is evident. Once again, the Earth has shown us how beautiful she is. For ochre being an iron based mineral – with red being the color associated with occurrence of iron in nature – I was surprised with the seemingly endless variety in pigment colors. The green-yellows, pale purples, and especially the vibrant blues really caught my eye. The blues shown on the Early Futures Ochre Archive are so gorgeous and I am always amazed by the natural occurrence of blue. I went through a bit of the Early Futures website, and the archive of information on ochre is very interesting. I appreciate the work Heidi Gustafson has done not only to preserve the nature of ochre, but also the art and culture surrounding the material. It is fascinating to me, and I am going to bookmark this archive to explore more about the pigment when I have the time to dedicate to it.
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