Bachmeier selected as Artist in Residence, Petrified Forest National Park
Brad Bachmeier, Art & Design, was selected as Artist in Residence for the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
The Artist-In-Residence Program at Petrified Forest National Park offers artists the opportunity to pursue their discipline while being surrounded by the park’s inspiring landscape, heritage and geology. Best known for globally significant Late Triassic fossils, the park attracts geologists, paleontologists, archeologists, historians, and biologists, just to name a few. The park is also haven for those searching for scenic vistas, wilderness, hiking, dark skies, and beautiful, vast landscapes. Ceramic artist and Professor Brad Bachmeier will have access to over 800 archeological and historic sites that represent more than 13,000 years of human history and one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric pottery fragments in the Southwest. As part of the residency, Bachmeier will provide several programs to the public about his work and study.
The Park has archeological objects from ancestral Puebloan, Mogollon, and Sinagua cultures; ethnological objects related to Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo cultures; Triassic invertebrate and vertebrate fossils collected from the Chinle Formation; representative geological specimens collected from the Chinle Formation; a photographic archive; and a biological collection.
Artists have impacted the formation, expansion and direction of our national parks. The work of many artists has also assisted in providing perspectives at parks that create meaningful experiences for our visitors. Today, artists continue to document national park landscapes with contemporary approaches and techniques. Artists from a wide variety of mediums draw upon the multifaceted quality of parks for inspiration. These artists translate the national park’s purpose, as a place of pleasure and preservation, into images which bring others enjoyment and a deeper understanding of the parks to many Americans who may never visit. Petrified Forest National Park’s Artist-In-Residence Program continues this tradition. Founded in 2006 as part of the park’s Centennial Celebration, the program continues to provide inspiration to park visitors.