DiscoverE: On the Threshold of the Great Lakes

PRESENTER: GEO RUTHERFORD, ARTIST

Have you stumbled upon @geodesaurus on TikTok? Geo Rutherford is a Wisconsin-based artist and activist who creates prints, artist’s books, and large-scale mixed-media works focusing on notions of invasiveness, impermanence, and the unseen in relation to the Great Lakes. The lakes’ transparent waters are a deceptive indicator of the health of the ecosystems below the surface. As a result of climate change, invasive species, and polluted waters, the lakes are quickly devolving into a water desert at the heart of North America. Geo’s practice includes researching the history of the lakes, taking field notes on visits to Lake Michigan, and spending hours on the beach while observing the waters and collecting man-made remnants in the sand.
Geo will be joining us for a fun discussion of her work and her most recent exhibition for her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Be ready to examine tiny test tubes and learn about the nature that surrounds the Great Lakes! Kids are welcome.

Make sure to view her artist statement. Check out this feature on Milwaukee’s NPR station about Geo’s most recent exhibition.