Visit the Brookline Village Library Teen Room to see the vivid and beautiful art combining science data and visual media to show the effects of climate change. There are pieces hanging on the walls in the Teen Room as well as just outside near our display case and table.

Heath School Science Teacher Mark Golder explains the process of creating these works:

“Inspired by the work of scientist and artist Jill Pelto, 8th graders at the Heath School analyzed climate data and used this data to create pieces of art. Each piece represents one effect of climate change, and students incorporated graphs of data from that topic into their imagery.

“At the end of the project, students reflected on the process and recorded short screencasts, which you can watch by pointing your phone at the QR code on each artist statement. You can also go directly to the website with all of the student work and reflections at bit.ly/heathclimateart.

“I am incredibly proud of these students, who used their knowledge about this challenging crisis and their creativity to help inform others and inspire action.”

Here are a few more examples, but please drop by to see all 21 masterpieces!

Changes in Bird Migration by Georgios and Wally

Loss of Glacier Ice: Project by Cally and May

Truman Seymour (1824-1891), son-in-law of Robert Weir and brother-in-law of Julian Alden Weir and John Ferguson Weir, was a superb watercolorist who spent his retirement painting in Europe. Seymour was a career military man who both studied and taught art at West Point Academy. His friends included fellow artists Worthington Whittredge, John Kensett, Eastman Johnson, John Casilear and Elihu Vedder and in Florence, where he eventually settled, Henry Roderick Newman. Although Seymour painted throughout his life and exhibited at the National Academy in 1872, it was after his retirement in 1877 that he produced the greatest number of watercolors. Seymour’s work during this period has been described as a “symphony of light and color” by Kent Ahrens, curator of two museum exhibitions devoted to the artist. Seymour traveled widely painting in Seville, Granada, Cordova, Florence, Venice, Lake Como and Clarens. The three works included in this installation were all done in Florence. Seymour’s watercolors have been preserved out of the sunlight for over 100 years and are astounding for their vivid colors.

This installation is dedicated to John Wilson’s talent and passion for drawing. Whether it was a gesture, a slight motion, or an unusual posture, the artist’s keen ability to translate his observations to paper is remarkable. Wilson frequently carried small pieces of paper in preparation for the moment when something caught his eye. These small drawings attest to his persistent desire to capture that moment.

John Wilson (1922-2015), a skilled painter, draftsman, printmaker and sculptor, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1922. His exceptional artistic talent was recognized and nurtured by his teachers at the Roxbury Boys’ Club. After his work was brought to the attention of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Wilson received a full scholarship. By his early 20s, Wilson’s work was included in several gallery exhibitions, had won numerous awards, and appeared in several prestigious magazines. Wilson graduated from the Museum School in 1945 with the highest honors. In the same year, one of his works was included in the groundbreaking exhibition “The Negro Artist Comes of Age” at the Albany Institute of History and Art. These successes were followed by two grants that allowed Wilson to study in Paris with Fernand Leger (1947-1949) and live and study in Mexico (1950-1956). Wilson was drawn to the work of the Mexican José Clemente Orozco, an artist whose work, both in form and content, paralleled his desire to create compelling images that exposed the oppression experienced by African Americans.

Wilson returned to the States in 1956, first to Chicago where he produced illustrations for a packinghouse workers union, then to New York where he taught art at several schools. In 1964, Wilson moved to Massachusetts to accept the position of professor at the School of Fine and Applied Arts, Boston University. He served as a consultant to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston during the founding of the National Center of Afro-American Artists.

These small 3 x 5 inch drawings demonstrate John Wilson’s ability to create beautiful images at any scale.

JOHN WILSON
(American, 1922-2015)
Young Boy on a Bus
Inscribed Bus and signed Wilson on the reverse
Black ink on paper
5 x 3 inches

Courtesy of Martha Richardson Fine Art, Boston