During the last few months of the semester, have you visited the Welcome Center to experience the exhibit by Judith Modrak titled “Earth’s Voices?”
Earth Voices represented the ongoing dialogue between humans and nature. It was a tribute to the connections between generations, institutions, and nature – honoring students, elders and the environment as they speak through art.
“The installation includes many voices – my voice, the voices of SJFU students and faculty, the community, and senior voices from Valley Manor, including my mom’s, in dialogue with nature” said Modrak.
It was important to her that the audience feel a collective call to action to protect the planet. The planet is what gives life to humans and all living beings, – it deserves our attention. This exhibition invites us to reflect on the ecosystem we inhabit and to consider our role, our relationship, and our responsibility to the environment through sensory, symbolic and linguistic experiences.
Modrak has always been “hyper-aware” of people and the environment; her work channels the feelings of Mother Earth. She has created many projects along her artistic journey, including “Our Memories” (2016-2019), commissioned by the NYC Public Art Program, “Thought Storm”, developed at Escape to Create amidst Florida’s coastal dunes, “Fluid Pathways,” a permanent, site-specific installation in Southern Spain, and “Endangered Fossils,” currently on view in Santa Clarita, CA, and “Do the Trees Hear Us?.” “Do the Trees Hear Us?” is the next project Modrak is currently working on in Rome as a Visiting Artist at the American Academy. The interconnected projects focus on understanding the origins of our ecosystem and our symbiotic role and responsibility to that environment.
“Earth Voices” offers a gateway not only to understanding our relationship with the natural world, but also to healing ourselves and one another through deep emotional engagement and contemplation.
Overall, Modrak’s deep connection to both the Rochester and Fisher communities shines through in “Earth Voices,” leaving us with a lasting impression of wonder and reflection.
