Art Museum of Eastern Idaho opens ‘Shared Ground: Art and the Animal’ exhibition

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - A new exhibit has opened at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, "Shared Ground: Art and the Animal" featuring art by Jessie Wilber and sculptures by Dan Burgette.

The exhibit is all about nature around us – such as the many bird statues decorating the museum, all handmade by Burgette. He was a wildlife conservationist for many years and found inspiration in his work and the lives of birds.

"We need to be concerned when we're losing our birds," Burgette explained. "There's a number of the pieces in the show that are kind of subtly talking about the influence of humans and how they have affected [birds]."

The exhibit aims to show both Wilber and Burgette's view of the natural environment, as well as promote conservation of wildlife.

"Research has shown that we've lost 10 billion birds in the last 50 years," Burgette said. "That's a real canary in the coal mine, so to speak, which says that the humans are affecting the natural world and humans are part of the natural world."

Students learn stop-motion animation

The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho is offering a class Thursday night and Friday evening for students to learn about stop-motion animation from an animator for LAIKA Studios. Lars C. Larsen has worked on such animated films as Coraline and their newest feature Wild Wood.

Larsen will be teaching students the fundamentals of stop-motion animation as well as get a chance to see the new movie for free.

"It's really fun to just teach the fundamentals and help people of all ages kind of have a greater appreciation for stop motion," Larsen said. "I think it's really satisfying to make it accessible because you could watch something like Coraline or Wildwood and be like, 'Whoa, that's insane.' But when you see it and you're like, 'Wow, that's insane. But I can do that.' Which is really what I'm going after."

If you want to find more information about the classes and the new exhibit, here is the link to the Art Museum's website.