NEHMA unveils two exhibitions exploring nature and technology

Mike Whiting steel sculpture.

The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art introduced two new temporary exhibitions from opposite ends of the material spectrum: inflatable and steel sculptures. 

The museum constantly organizes temporary exhibitions to provide educational opportunities for the Cache Valley and Utah State University community. The two new exhibitions are insightful and meant for audiences to reflect on how they choose to live their lives. 

“We hope that the art will get people to stop and think and what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,” said NEHMA deputy director Jeff Lambson. 

The first exhibition, The Intervening Substance, is open from Sept. 3 to Dec. 18. It features hand-sewn inflatable sculptures created by artist Nicole Banowetz. 

Banowetz has been making inflatables for over 12 years and has recently been making artwork out of upcycled tents. 

“I was really excited by how big you can make things with just a sewing machine and fabric,” Banowetz said. “It’s much more accessible, cost-wise and storage-wise.” 

Banowetz’s work has been shown all over the world and is even in permanent collections at the Denver Children’s Museum and in the Amsterdam Light Festival’s Light Art Collection. 

“We lucked out to get her,” Lambson said.

“She’s booked at galleries, museums and public events all over the country all the time.”

Inside the exhibition are two series, both inspired by the natural world. The main series is The Intervening Substance which is specifically inspired by mysterious underwater Radiolaria, which are silica skeletons of zooplankton and jellyfish. The second series, Concerning Plants, is inspired by plant root systems. 

“My pieces are always insightful and pretty much always inspired by nature and different forms of nature,” Banowetz said. 

Her sculptures are created to remind us that there is a lot of our environment to explore and protect. 

The second exhibition is placed throughout the USU Sculpture Walk. Sculpture artist Mike Whiting created 10 pixelated steel sculptures inspired by 8-bit pixel graphics present in early video games such as Pac-Man and Space Invaders. Sculptures such as the orange bird, the orange pretzel and the light blue eagle are Whiting’s creations.

The exhibition officially opened on Sept. 3, and the 10 sculptures will remain part of the USU Sculpture Walk through June 5 2027. Visitors can view the entire collection by walking about a mile and a half across USU campus. A new sculpture walk map is also being created to include Whiting’s exhibition. Whiting’s sculptures explore the relationships and impacts that the digital world has on our daily lives.

Lambson said that they are carrying out the artist’s message by placing the sculptures outside where people can get away from their screens. 

“It’s forcing you to go outside and to start thinking about the impact of the electronic world in your life,” Lambson said.

Both exhibitions were opened for the first annual NEHMA Block Bash inspired by the museum’s exhibition The Lure and Lore of the West.

The festival celebrated the art, stories and spirit of the American West with poetry, live music, crafting activities, food trucks and more. NEHMA also brought out the Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous and Grand Ole Opry member Andy Hedges to perform cowboy poetry. There was also a panel discussion where they talked about Bigfoot and how our relationship with the natural world shaped the Bigfoot legend. 

This was the first festival NEHMA has organized; however, they plan to do a similar event every year at the beginning of the school year themed around a different exhibition or artwork in the museum.   

“The hope is to do it yearly and have it become a community tradition,” said Chiara Sorensen, coordinator of visitor and event services.

NEHMA plays an important role in the USU community by supporting local artists and providing opportunities for USU through educational programs and public events. These opportunities help encourage appreciation for the arts. 

“We want people to know that the art museum is for campus and for the students,” Lambson said.