Large Scale Wood Sculpture (03:06)

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Ursula von Rydingsvard describes how growing up in a post-WWII Polish refugee camp informs her work. She carves cedar beams into layers used to build a three dimensional form.

Form as Self Expression (03:13)

Von Rydingsvard paints graphite on surfaces to communicate emotions and finds that models limit her options. Anger and chaos are motivating factors.

Three Dimensional Drawings (03:11)

Von Rydingsvard discusses her use of light in a Madison Square Garden sculpture and reflects on combining man-made and natural objects. She considers sketches to be a series of cuts.

Opposites in Art (03:35)

Von Rydingsvard discusses a piece she considers Baroque. Her studio is filled with unfinished works that provide ideas; sculptures possess dichotomous characteristics.

"Le Baiser/The Kiss" (03:34)

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle's work is political, but doesn't reveal his position. He discusses how architecture and acting inspired a video installation in which he washes windows at Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth house.

"Bulletproof Umbrella" (02:58)

Manglano-Ovalle discusses a video work of broken glass from Mies van der Rohe's architecture school. A Kevlar umbrella and a jack sculpture have commonalities, but he doesn't want them to be too obvious.

"Random Sky" (03:34)

Manglano-Ovalle expresses weather pattern randomness and our desire to control nature in a Chicago installation in which computers translate climate data to a visual facade. He discusses "Cloud Prototype No.1" and "Red Fist."

Immigration Installations (02:37)

In "Search," Manglano-Ovalle converted a Tijuana bullfight ring into a radio telescope to comment on alienation. "La Tormenta/The Storm" at the Chicago Citizenship and Immigration Services building expresses the duality of hope and anxiety among new arrivals.

American West Photography (03:27)

Robert Adams began capturing tract housing and highways in Colorado Springs, and developed an appreciation for their aesthetic qualities. He tries to show the contradictory nature of the West in each frame.

Publishing Work (02:55)

Light determines Adam's decision to capture an image. Seascapes teach him to remain open. He talks about the process of compiling photographs for books; view Southern California landscapes.

"Turning Back" (03:04)

Adams discusses a project documenting deforestation in the Pacific Northwest. He talks about working with wood and reads an Ever Thomas quote about poplar trees.

Beauty in Photography (01:56)

Adams reflects on his love of trees and admits to pursuing beauty as a confirmation of meaning in life. View an image taken at a clear cut forest.

Natural History Artist (04:21)

Mark Dion collects and assembles objects for museum inspired installations. He covers dead lab rats with tar for a work about the introduction of rodents on Puffin Island.

Exploring Ideas about Nature (02:55)

Dion says he's holding up a mirror to the ecological present, and believes contemporary artists should criticize culture. He collects soil, plants and insects around a fallen hemlock tree for an exhibit on living systems.

Second Life (02:52)

Fallen trees support forest ecosystems. Dion's team transports a hemlock trunk and its flora and fauna to a Seattle sculpture space, where it will remain.

"Neukom Vivarium" (03:40)

Dion designed a building around a fallen hemlock trunk to transport visitors to the forest and emphasize nature as a process. He reflects on his living art work.

Credits: Ecology (02:32)

Credits: Ecology