Contact: Carleton College
Office of Media Relations
(507) 646-4184
media@acs.carleton.edu
Written by Marina Komarovsky ‘08

October 9, 2007

For immediate release

The Buckthorn Menace Nears Completion at Carleton College; Community
Invited to Celebrate Opening

Northfield, Minn.—The Buckthorn Menace, a large-scale sculptural
installation created by Northfield residents and students under the
direction of Minneapolis artist Jim Proctor, will open at Carleton
College on Saturday, October 13. The community celebration, scheduled
from 3 to 5 p.m., will take place at the installation site in the
Cowling Arboretum—the “upper arb,” located off the East Second Street
entrance to the arboretum. This special event is free and open to the
public.

The installation is the final stage of this unique project, combining
volunteerism, education, and creative expression. Since mid-September,
participants have been pulling buckthorn weeds at both Carleton and St.
Olaf colleges, then using the wood and roots of this destructive plant
species to construct sculptures resembling giant dandelions in full
seed, a visual choice representing the rampant dispersal of the invasive
buckthorn shrub. “Dandelions are not a huge environmental problem, but
buckthorn is,” Proctor explains. “However, buckthorn is invisible to
most people. I want to create a connection with something that is familiar.”

True works of public art, the sculptures simultaneously serve to educate
people about the environmental problem of buckthorn and to propose
community collaboration as a solution. The installation will stand for
one full year so that it can be viewed during all four seasons,
intrinsically shaped by nature as it contributes to its preservation.

An Ohio native, Jim Proctor earned a studio art degree from St. Olaf
College in 1992. His mixed media use of plant material in nature
paintings eventually led to a transition to three-dimensional sculptures
that are constructed fully from plants. Much of his current work
consists of miniature sculptures in which he combines different species
of plants to create a visual representation with social or environmental
symbolism. Having previously erected Buckthorn Menace installations in
surrounding locations through a FORECAST Public Artworks grant, he has
now brought the project and the message to Northfield.

The Carleton installation site is located in the “Stork Forest” area of
the “upper arb”: follow the paved path at the end of East Second Street
(near Bell Field) across the bridge and uphill; the site is on the top
of the hill as you round the bend in the direction of the Recreation
Center. For more information, visit the Buckthorn Menace website at
http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/gallery/buckthorn/.

The Buckthorn Menace project is co-sponsored by Carleton College and St.
Olaf College, in association with the Environmental Quality Commission
of Northfield.

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If this new season is for sex al fresco…

…a Carhartt cap, a Woolrich jacket and Sorel boots must be lingerie.

- Ross

So when it’s time to do the radio show, you’re Mr. Nowhere-man, but when it’s about romping in the woods with women, you’re Johnny-on-the-Spot, eh?

- Ross