| Each
year, Wave Hill invites an artist to create a site work through
the program generated@wavehill. This year’s project, The
Grafter’s Shack, by J. Morgan Puett, is on view after
July 14 in the Abrams Woodland. A portion of this installation
was included in the Insecta Magnifica exhibit in the Glyndor
Gallery this spring.
To
celebrate the art of beekeeping, a bee grafter’s shack is sited
in a pine grove near the existing hives. Inside the shack,
Puett combines the cottage industries of beekeeping and sewing by
incorporating both the tools used in keeping bees and the bee grafter’s
outfit. This outfit, unique in the world of working apparel,
calms the bees as well as protects its wearer. Puett has embroidered
this custom-designed garment with a motif based on diagrams of the
queen bee’s reproductive system along with myth and lore of beekeeping.
Queen
bee grafting is a relatively unknown aspect of beekeeping.
It is the process of removing larvae just hatched from the eggs
of the best queen. Next, each little grub is picked up with
an earspoon and gently laid in a cell cup containing royal jelly
food. Every bee larva has the potential to become a queen if properly
nourished by its hive mates or an apiarist.
Bees
have long been associated with many different and often disparate
groups. They have been the symbol for both democratic and
totalitarian causes, and have been employed in religious texts and
as symbols for the freemasons. The visual culture of bees
will be exhibited alongside the tools, books, and costumes.
This
project also involves members of the Puett family who have been
involved with beekeeping for four generations. At the opening
of The Grafter’s Shack, the artist’s brother, Garnett, a
beekeeper in Hawaii, will discuss the plight of the contemporary
beekeeper. Her sister Barry will answer questions about bee
grafting. Puett has also worked with the volunteer
beekeepers at Wave Hill, who maintain the hives on the
property.
Principal
funding for the Visual Arts at Wave Hill is provided by the Stephen
and Cathy Weinroth Charitable Trust. generated@wavehill is supported
by the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation.
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