Connecting the Beauty of Art together with Nature

By Marie Bradby

Martha Slaughter has industrial plant life a task that embodies ii of her favorite things. Photos past times Patti Hartog


While the warm saltation breeze blew against her appear upward as well as ruffled the pastel blossoms of the trees, Martha Slaughter swung on an fine art slice entitled Philosofa, a sculpted, suspended bench simply exterior the Visitor’s Center at Bernheim Arboretum as well as Research Forest, as well as mused.

“Art as well as nature connect us to the natural populace through our senses,” says Martha, a visual arts coordinator for both Bernheim as well as KentuckyOne Health. “Bernheim is a house that people know they tin come upward to as well as stimulate got that experience. It gives people a sense of well-being. Scientific studies stimulate got shown that beingness inward impact amongst nature is adept for the withdraw heed as well as body.”




Martha sits on the Philosofa swing amongst Jessie Burke, Ava as well as Cecily Schardein as well as Emmalyn Lies. They stimulate got come upward to
Bernheim for a visit. 


Martha earned a bachelor’s flat inward fine art history from the University of California, Irvine as well as did a society at the Whitney Museum inward New York. She has decades of sense equally a curator as well as administrative fine art director. She went direct from undergraduate schoolhouse to jobs unopen to the province at museums as well as galleries inward San Diego, Seattle, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, as well as Louisville, where inward 2011, she served equally interim managing director for the Kentucky Museum of Art as well as Craft.

“I’ve e'er been an outdoors individual — I sailed, I skied,” says Martha, who was raised inward Westchester, New York; Vancouver, British Columbia; as well as Monterey as well as Newport Beach, California. “I never idea my dear of fine art history as well as nature would last combined inward ane job.”

The sculpture Earth Measure, made of Bedford limestone, was created past times Matt Weir to award Barry Bingham, Jr. for his service to Bernheim. Earth Measure is an educational, interactive sculpture that invites the viewer to play amongst reflected sound. 


Martha runs Bernheim’s artist-in-residence program, which was started inward 1980. This spring, an overview of the Bernheim fine art residency collection was the dependent plain of an exhibit at the Carnegie Center inward New Albany, Indiana. The exhibit celebrated the program’s 35 years of artwork — photographs, paintings, sculptures, as well as videos. “Some people may non come upward to Bernheim for the art, but it is in that location equally ane of the facets they tin explore to deepen their appreciation of nature,” Martha says.

An inviting bench located exterior the visitors' pump of Bernheim Arboretum as well as Research Forest provides
a infinite for serenity reflection. 


What’s the creative individual computer programme like?
The creative individual has a cabin that they remain inward for ii to 4 months (they typically come upward ane at a time), as well as they teach a $2,500 honorarium. There is a alternative process. It’s a global program. Last twelvemonth nosotros had to a greater extent than than 100 applications from all over the world. We emphasize that they practice locomote to assist connect people amongst nature.



How does the procedure work?
We enquire artists to practice a proposal, but nosotros don’t concord them to it. The creative procedure takes house spell they are here. One creative individual from Quebec was intrigued past times the stonemason bees here. She made the Atomic Apartment, a mid-century modern complex of living spaces for bees. It is a agency our educators tin speak to kids as well as adults virtually the importance of bees as well as the environment.

This untitled piece, referred to equally Mushroom Bump, is a wheat straw as well as roll construction created past times Mei-ling Hom during her Artist-in-Residency computer programme inward 2013. The slice is on loan from Bernheim to the Carnegie Center for Art & History inward New Albany as well as was included inward their recent exhibit Bernheim: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Natural Muse, Celebrating 35 Years of the Artist inward Residence Program.


What’s your vision for the creative individual program?
I would nation inward the side past times side decade, nosotros desire to challenge visitors on the notion of what fine art is. For example, Chiel Kujcl, an environmental sculptor from Holland, simply made the Philosofa piece. It serves equally a sort of suspended bench, but it’s then creative that it serves equally fine art equally well. People volition last sitting on it as well as questioning who made it as well as why it is here. So you lot sense it physically equally well. Some of the most successful fine art projects hither engage as well as please people earlier they fifty-fifty know it’s fine art or sympathize the creative procedure that’s taking place.

In the final ii decades, the locomote has been to a greater extent than experimental. An creative individual from the University of Oklahoma did aroma mapping. She industrial plant life materials inward the wood as well as meadow as well as boiled them downward to their essences to stand upward for each area.



globe Measure is an acoustic slice that amplifies the sounds of nature. It’s past times a Louisville artist, Matt Weir, who was commissioned to practice the slice to award Barry Bingham Jr., who was on Bernheim’s board for 38 years. It’s a wonderful slice that puts you lot out into a field. We are trying to practice a library of dissimilar fine art pieces that engage people. We desire people to stimulate got a sense of discovery.

How has the role of fine art changed?
Art tin stimulate got to a greater extent than than its exercise equally an artifact. It tin last used for social as well as political purposes, to practice dialogue as well as connect as well as expand communities. The locomote hither is to connect people to nature. Isaac Bernheim purchased this belongings for people to come upward hither to recreate as well as connect amongst the beauty of nature as well as art, as well as that was 1929. That’s pretty amazing.

What’s your locomote amongst KentuckyOne Health?
Mr. Bernheim was likewise a founder of Jewish Hospital, which is directly affiliated amongst KentuckyOne Health. For the infirmary as well as hospital walls, I hang large 42-by-42-inch coloring cloth photos of Bernheim subjects taken past times our staff. It’s interesting how it’s come upward amount circle. Nature-based photography creates a sense of calm as well as serenity as well as helps patients locomote past times their situation.

My get-go large projection was for Our Lady of Peace. I installed 65 images, many of them inward patient units. Talk virtually beingness able to locomote past times your environs — the patients all similar it. It’s been a huge morale boost for the staff. It gives their workplace a sense of value as well as appreciation of what they are doing inward their environment.

 How practice you lot contain fine art as well as nature into your life?
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