Nature Nurtured by Alexis Rockman at The Parrish

[caption id="attachment_44896" align="alignleft" width="1024"] Alexis Rockman. Striped Bass (morone saxatilis), 18 x 24 in.[/caption]

By Dawn Watson

Ever since he was a young boy, Alexis Rockman has been fascinated by nature.

[caption id="attachment_44897" align="alignleft" width="300"] Alexis Rockman. White Tailed Deer. 18 x 24 inches.[/caption]

Whether visiting his mother, Diana Wall, at her job working with anthropologist Margaret Mead at the American Museum of Natural History, studying the rats on tracks of New York City’s subway system, or taking note of his surroundings during family trips abroad, the child developed a keen appreciation for wild creatures. Spellbound by zoology and botany, his boyhood home on the Upper East Side was populated with strange and exotic specimens, such as poisonous dart frogs, news, boa constrictors, and the like.

His study of and first-hand experiences with these wild animals and pets proved critical to the child, whose thoughts leapt to the understanding that humans are closely related to animals, even though we often try to forget it.

“There are parts of our culture that we might want to avoid,” he said during a telephone interview last week. “I have always been fascinated by the joy and terror that we are essentially animals.”

[caption id="attachment_44887" align="alignright" width="300"] Alexis Rickman. Eastern red fox. 12 x 16 inches.[/caption]

After deciding against his boyhood dream of becoming a scientist, he settled on combining his love for the environment with vast reserves of creativity. Mr. Rockman, who has rented in Sag Harbor for a dozen summers, eventually became a successful artist and conservation advocate. His fantastical painted landscapes and straightforward field studies from areas such as the Amazon, Tasmania and Madagascar have been shown in galleries and museums all over the world, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Additionally, the artist was hand-picked by director Ang Lee to create several key concept paintings for the “Tiger Vision” scene in the film “Life of Pi.” His latest work, “Alexis Rockman: East End Field Drawings” will open at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill on Sunday, October 25.

Drawing inspiration from areas such as Round Pond in Sag Harbor; Lazy Point, Town Line Beach, Cedar Point, Hook Pond, Oyster Pond, and Georgica Pond in East Hampton; and Big Reed Pond, Hither Hills State Park, and Montauk Downs in Montauk; and others, the artist set out to learn more about the East End.

[caption id="attachment_44894" align="alignleft" width="300"] Alexis Rockman. Racoon. 12 x 16 inches.[/caption]

Crediting naturalist Jim Ash, the former executive director of the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton, for helping him on his journey to learn more about our region’s ecology, the artist began studying last August, he reports. Three months later, he was able to implement his newfound knowledge in the exploration of the intersections among art, science and history.

“Before I met with Jim, I’d see glimpses of the wildlife here but I really didn't know that much,” says Mr. Rockman. “He really set me on the right course.”

The end result of the research was the creation of 93 field drawings depicting the flora and fauna of the South Fork. The works, he stressed, are not drawn in the usual way; they are created only from organic material—such as soil, sand crushed leaves—which the artist had collected at each site.

[caption id="attachment_44893" align="alignright" width="300"] Alexis Rockman. Piping plover. 9 x 12 inches.[/caption]

As he set out on the project, Mr. Rockman first made a list of the creatures of the East End—from ospreys and foxes to box turtles, thresher sharks and horseshoe crabs—and mapped them. Then he made note of the most prolifically stocked sites and ventured out to study.

“I was looking at all sorts of animals, from those nearly extinct to ones that were thriving, like the white tailed deer,” he says.

Along the way, he collected the organic matter that he wanted to use in his field drawings. Back in his studio, he created pigments from the dirt, sand and other native materials that he had gathered in plastic bags and jars.

“There’s a lot of rich ecology right underneath our feet,” Mr. Rockman says. “It was crucial that the end result should be about that.”

[caption id="attachment_44892" align="alignleft" width="300"] Alexis Rockman. Osprey. 18 x 24 inches.[/caption]

The field drawings are about more than illustrating the wildlife of specific places, he adds. They are meant to draw attention to nature, to make the viewer think about humankinds’ relationship to the planet. And, ultimately, to make a difference.

“We have finite resources, from our own mortality to the other creatures that live here,” he says. “I would hope that the work would draw attention for people to have a sense of care and tenderness about the things that are trying to cross the road,” he says.

“Except deer ticks,” he laughs. “We’ve got enough of those out here.”

“Alexis Rockman: East End Field Drawings” will be on view at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill from October 25, 2015 through January 18, 2016. An opening reception is planned for Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn more at www.parrishart.org.