Harold B. Lemmerman Gallery in Hepburn Hall is ending the semester with “Dialogue with an Ancient Forest,” created by Herb Rosenberg, NJCU’s emeritus professor.
“Dialogue With an Ancient Forest” is a multi-media installation that towers over visitors and transforms the gallery into a forest inspired by Nova Scotia’s Forest on Cape Breton Island. The exhibit features ginormous aluminum columns painted black and etched using wavy strokes. Professor Rosenburg’s illustrations look like a magnified combination of human and animal bones. His use of anatomy can also be seen in the levitating wooden logs cut and lined up to reflect a spine’s vertebrae. Altogether, the installation speaks on people’s relationship with the environment. The height of Professor Rosenberg’s pieces, paired with the high ceiling and nature sounds humming in the Lemmerman Gallery, immerses you in a dense forest.
I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit during its opening on November 6th, and the experience is entirely different if you were to visit alone. Visitors, tall and short, crowded the front of the exhibit. Trying to walk past them into the clearing created by the artworks’ arrangement was like walking through a crowded forest filled with bushes and shrubs that block the path ahead. The sky was black that day, making the fluorescent lights in the room feel like the moon was beaming into the forest. I revisited the exhibit a few days later when it was less crowded and sunny. This time, it was like I was enjoying a nature walk through the woods. The sunlight passing through the gallery’s stained windows made everything feel peaceful and calm. Your experience in Professor Rosenberg’s forest considers other elements besides the pieces (lighting, the height of the ceiling, and how many people are there), which is something I’ve never experienced before.
The “Dialogue with an Ancient Forest” exhibition in NJCU ends on December 12th. If you’re feeling stressed about finals, work, or just looking for a place to pass the time while you’re on campus, stop by the 3rd floor of Hepburn Hall and enjoy the peaceful experience of the forest!
