Abstract

Oregon State University Extension Foresters designed and evaluated a traveling art exhibit to reach new audiences, increase awareness of the complexity of forest issues, and provide a conducive environment for dialogue with Oregonians. Since 1999, over 118,000 people have seen the show in 10 Oregon communities. Thirty-seven artists have provided 88 strategically-selected art images, valued at $45,000. Displayed works vary from environmental images to scenes of utilization and include art pieces made from forest products. We have tangible results that, while labor-intensive, Seeing the Forest: Art about Forests and Forestry, is a highly effective, low financial cost, means of engaging the public in dialogue.

Introduction

Forestry in Oregon continues to undergo changes in infrastructure, employment and performance due to many societal factors. The role of non-formal Extension forestry education is to improve Oregonians’ knowledge of forest resources and their options for expanding benefits from these resources. In 1998, to better understand the forestry trends issues and educational needs, we conducted a systematic assessment, collecting such information from nearly 500 members of the forestry community potentially served by Extension. The assessment illustrated numerous programmatic opportunities which were expressed in six strategic goals. One goal emphasizes engagement of the public in dialogue about Oregon’s forestry future to generate more informed citizens and ultimately better forest policies. Strategies to address this goal generally employ Extension’s model of public issues education that encourages exploration of perspectives leading to definition of policy alternatives and their associated consequences. The art show was envisioned as one approach to engaging people in a learning experience that shares perspectives with others.

As a means to engage the public in dialogue about forestry and forestry issues, a non-traditional extension approach was employed using art as an educational medium. The objectives of Seeing the Forest were to:

• Increase viewers awareness of the complexity of forest issues
• Listen to what Oregonian’s value and believe about forests and forestry
• Learn about the audiences forestry knowledge and educational needs
• Introduce Forestry Extension to non-forestry public

It is important to understand the core concepts that guided the design and implementation of Seeing the Forest. This was an educational art show, with specific learning objectives and formal evaluation procedures. In addition, there were characteristics that ensured this was not a traditional juried art show, but rather an effort to engage the public in an informed dialogue about forestry. Seeing the Forest was designed as an educational experience for the general public with learning and dialogue to occur along the featured forestry and forestry themes. Specifically, the art was to convey various values and issues related to forestry. This may have been the most central guiding concept in the work: the content of the art show. In the solicitation to artists, the steering committee requested submissions in the following areas: harvest methods, conflict resolution, wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, recreation use, water resources, urban encroachment, forest health, fire control, and jobs. The steering committee encouraged art across all mediums (oil, watercolor, photographs, painted media, etc.). In addition, artists were asked to submit a short statement (one paragraph) describing their work.

So in addition to the art piece, we also had artist statements’ detailing what they were trying to convey through the art. The steering committee also wrote statements describing how the art fit with the content categories that we were targeting. The art, artist’s statements, and committee statements triangulated well and provided links between the art and the content target areas. Other important characteristics of the show included showings at multiple locations around the state. Using the statewide extension network, steering committee members identified local “hosts” who aided in site selection and local arrangements. The sites chosen were to be public, potentially high traffic areas so as to maximize the number of people exposed to and viewing Seeing the Forest.

Evaluation Methods

As an educational program, Seeing the Forest included a formal evaluation component. The core concepts discussed previously guided evaluation design. A brochure with the artist’s names, titles of their artwork, and the prices of the artwork were available for those who viewed the show. The brochure was an accompaniment to the art show and enabled participants to view the art show while associating the titles of the pieces. Inside the brochure, a one-page questionnaire with 6 questions was included. The survey questions were directly tied to the project objectives. Viewers returned the completed questionnaires by placing them in a box before exiting the area of the art show. In addition, a few surveys were mailed to the address indicated on the questionnaire. The surveys were anonymous and included two open-ended and four multiple-choice questions. The results were analyzed using thematic analysis for the open-ended questions and SPSS for the multiple-choice questions.

Results

Seeing the Forest was piloted in 1999. In this year, we selected 35 images by 11 Northwest artists, representing opposing values such as the Forest as Provider of Goods vs. Preservation, Private Rights vs. Social Responsibility. Issues illustrated included harvest methods, recreation, fire control, jobs, water resources, wildlife habitat, and aesthetic beauty. The show featured multiple mediums, including photography, oils, watercolors, ceramic bas relief and tiles, as well as Native American-style wood carvings, and folk art painted saws.

During the three month pilot test in three communities (Corvallis, Tillamook, Bend) 68,000 people viewed the exhibit. Besides writing comments on corkboards interspersed throughout the show, 164 people responded to the written questionnaire. Ninety percent of the people who responded, indicated that the art show succeeded in illustrating the diversity of forest issues in Oregon. Seventy-three percent said that it increased their understanding of the complexity of forestry issues. The art show project also generated 100% positive responses from the host sites (a gallery, a tourist attraction, a city hall), the artists, and the OSU Forestry faculty and volunteers who interacted with the public.) Our pilot test experiences led OSU Extension Foresters to produce another show in 2000.

In 2000, we sent a statewide call for submissions to all art and craft guilds in region. From these submissions, we selected 53 art pieces, worth $37,000, from 26 artists. Mediums added in 2000 were quilts and wood products such as furniture and turned wood. To enable more Oregonians to view and interact with the exhibit, we expanded the itinerary to include 7 communities in 8 months (Bend, Klamath Falls, Corvallis, St Helens, Coos Bay, Clackamas and in February, in the State Capitol.) To provide more opportunities for dialogue, we asked artists for Artist Statements which hang next to the art pieces. We also modified the questionnaire to add two qualitative questions; and we added another corkboard to receive more informal comments, primarily from youth.

Over the 1999-2000 time period a total of over 118,000 people have viewed Seeing the Forest across 10 Oregon communities. Thirty-seven artists have provided 88 strategically-selected art images, valued at $45,000. Displayed works vary from environmental images to scenes of utilization and include art pieces made from forest products. A proportion of those who viewed the art show in 2000 completed the formal survey for a total of 305 respondents. The survey was given during the second year of Seeing the Forest. The survey was voluntary and not all those who viewed the art show completed the survey, nor was there any way to gauge whether all 118,000 estimated viewers walked the entire show. However, those viewers who took the time to complete the survey provided valuable information about their experiences related to viewing Art About Forestry. Table 1 indicates where the art show was shown in Oregon and the number of surveys collected at each location. The majority of survey respondents viewed the art show at the Bend location. This was a very high-traffic area since Deschutes is a major tourist attraction with the National Forest and unique Lavalands area.

Table 1: Viewing location of survey respondents, Seeing the Forest 2000

In addition, survey respondents indicated where they lived. The majority of respondents answering this question (n=298) lived either in the Willamette Valley (Corvallis, Eugene) or were travailing from out of state (Table 2).

Table 2: Where survey respondents live, Seeing the Forest 2000

Most of the survey questions were designed to gauge whether to not we achieved our broad content goals. When asked whether viewing Seeing the Forest increased respondents understanding of the complexity of forest issues, 76.8 (n=284) indicated that they either agreed or strongly agreed with that statement. Eight-six percent (n=305) of survey respondents stated that Seeing the Forest succeeded in illustrating the diversity of forest issues in Oregon. A related question required the respondents to circle the forestry issues that they saw illustrated in Seeing the Forest (Table 3). The majority of respondents indicated that wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, and harvest methods were illustrated in Seeing the Forest. The issues respondents listed least frequently as illustrated in Seeing the Forest were urban encroachment and conflict resolution.

Table 3: Forestry issues survey respondents confirmed viewing in Seeing the Forest, 2000

In addition to the multiple choice questions, respondents also completed two open-ended questions on the survey. Of the 49 images included in the show, only three were not mentioned at least once specifically by name or number in answers to the open-ended questions. This shows that Seeing the Forest was varied enough to appeal to a wide audience (i.e., there is something for everyone). These results also support the goal of creating dialogue in that the majority of respondents (65%) provided answers and commented on the art in the open-ended questions.

Viewers were also asked to identify the art image they like the best. A follow-up question inquired, “Which art image do you find the most intriguing or thought-provoking, and why?” The image titled “Predator” evoked the most comments from viewers and was at the top of most viewers “best liked image” list (Box 1, 2).

Box 1: Which art image did you like the best?

Box 2: Which image did you find most thought provoking?

Although the Predator image provoked more thought and or reaction than any other image, it was not the best liked award (Box 1, 2). In this category, (Predator and Beside a Mountain Stream were essentially tied. That these two images that image each captured the “appeal” award is useful information. Predator is shown below in Box 3. Beside a Mountain Stream was a vividly colored quilt composed of hand-dyed decorative yarns and threads. These are two very different types of art, representing two very contrasting images which evoked very different responses from the viewers. A dynamic piece (such as Predator) may evoke a lot of comments, but the comments tended to be focused on one or two forestry issues (see below).

Box 3: Seeing the Forest 2000, “Predator” by Stev Ominski

The content of Seeing the Forest was centered on the 10 issues listed in Table 3. We analyzed the answers to the two open-ended questions and examined the correlation with the issues. Forestry issues were identified 91 times in question 4 (best liked image) and 76 times in question 5 (most thought-provoking image) which amounts to forestry issues being identified 55% of the time for both questions. Thus, viewers were cognizant of forest issues in general and were able to identify them in the images (Tables 4, 5).

All 10 forestry issues were identified in responses to question 4 (best liked image), whereas recreation and water issues were not identified at all in response to question 5 (most thought-provoking). One could conclude that in art that appeals to viewers, they are able to “see” the issues more frequently than in those pieces which provoked thought, but were not so appealing.

Table 4: Most frequently identified themes for survey respondents answering the open-ended question asking which art image was best liked and why

Table 5: Most frequently identified themes for survey respondents answering the open-ended question asking which art image was most thought-provoking and why.

Because of the strong reaction to the Predator image, we examined the issues that this piece evoked in respondents. In question 4 (best-liked), 16 responses identified at least one forestry issue, with harvest methods being the issue most frequently mentioned. In question 5 (though-provoking), 29 responses identified at least one forestry issue with harvest issues again being the most frequently mentioned. For both questions, conflict resolution, aesthetic beauty, urban encroachment, forest health, and jobs were identified. This image evoked a wide range of responses and the data confirm that. In addition to the forestry issues, other themes which appeared throughout the responses included:

• Aesthetics which were expressed by comments of personal appeal and/or beautiful images;
• Comments about the art such as style, technique, color, composition, medium, subject or the design of the art;
• Emotion or an affective response including anger, sadness, humor, irony, serenity, or strength evoked by the art;
• Memory or memory evoking comments; and
• Comments about the show itself, including a request to continue the show.

In analyzing the data, we also triangulated answers to the quantitative and qualitative questions. Similar patterns emerged when relating the answers to question 2 (which issues did you see identified?), 4 (which image did you like the best, why?), and 5 (which image did you find most thought-provoking, why?). The issues listed most frequently in comments in the text-based data from questions 4 and 5 were aesthetic beauty, harvest methods, forest health, and conflict resolution. The issues most frequently identified (70%+) in the numeric-based data from question 2 were wildlife habitat, aesthetic beauty, and harvest methods. The first four issues identified in the text-based data and the first four in the numeric data are similar. Finding the congruence between the qualitative and quantitative data supports the goal of targeting content in the show. The data also indicate that forest issues like aesthetic beauty, harvest methods, and jobs are the easiest to see and we did a satisfactory job of including this content in the show.

However, wildlife habitat was the easiest issue to see in the show when reported from the numeric based data, yet was not commented upon as frequently in the open-ended comments. Further examination is needed to determine if that was that because of some factor related to the show locations or the show content. Conflict resolution could be appearing frequently in the text-based data because of the coding structure as it didn’t reflect in the numeric responses. The remaining issues, recreation use, water resources, urban encroachment, forest health, and fire control aren’t identified as often as the other issues. This could be due to these issues not being representing well in the art or because the images in the show that represented these issues were unclear. Another hypothesis is that the viewing public and the citizens of Oregon don’t see these as issues and are not looking for them. In this case, our educational approach needs to be stronger. These are all considerations to be taken into account for the 2002 show.

Discussion

Based upon our experiences with the Seeing the Forest, we believe that educational innovations serve a meaningful niche in helping members of an increasingly urbanized society better appreciate the role forests play in their lives. Considerations for future shows include an expanded selection of traveling art designed around selected themes or important forestry issues. We believe that the show could be productively designed for better penetration into the youth community, and will give consideration to including child art and selection of venues to better reach youth audiences. Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program may offer possibilities for development of targeted activities as part of ongoing projects in natural resources and environmental literacy. In addition, the show content is tightly linked to the results. If the goal is to provoke thought, then thought provoking images like Predator have a place in the show; if the goal is to engage the viewer in conversation, then polarizing images like Predator, may not be the best use of the show’s space and focus.

Thus far, the show has engaged audiences in a relatively passive environment, where posted written “asynchronous” exchanges generate little active dialogue. Future settings will be considered where an associated forum may be held to allow for “synchronous”, or active, real-time dialogue. Other ways to extend the show to more viewers are being explored including availability over the web where reactions and responses to our key questions could be posted for all to see and consider. Ultimately, the impact of this initiative may assist in development of forestry policies grounded more in understanding and appreciation of important issues rather than emotional and unprocessed reactions.