Department of the Interior Museum
                                
    1849 C Street NW  Washington, D.C. 20240  202/208-4743
                                
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:     September 26, 1996
Contact:     Debra Berke

202/208-4743, Fax: 202/208-6950

Washington, D.C.

Artistic Impressions of the Environment on Display at Interior Museum
                                
The Interior Museum is showing work by six faculty members from Appalachian State University's art
department in Boone, North Carolina. Topics include wildlife, mining, polluted water and the global
condition. A variety of media, from polychromed wood, charcoal, oil on canvas, recycled and found items,
to computer generated images convey these ideas. The collages are unusual. One piece by Judy Humphrey
entitled The Polluted Water Garden cleverly incorporates pictures and found debris of cigarette butts and
hypodermic needles to show that while all appears clean on the surface underneath there is dangerous
contamination. In The Life Boat Apron by Marianne Stevens Suggs, she beautifully weaves various shades
of blue string onto branches to make her statement about water. Half Done by Gail Weitz is a striking table
whose legs are a woman's. On the table's surface is a glass of water. This piece poignantly expresses the
artist's views on over consumption of environmental resources.

The artwork will be displayed until November 22, 1996, when a second part of this exhibit opens.
Appalachian State University artist Joan Smyly Durden visited and photographed mine sites and
reclamation areas and interviewed people as background for her project. A solo show of Durden's oil
paintings will be displayed until January 31, 1997.

The exhibit developed when Interior's Office of Surface Mining asked these Appalachian artists to reflect
on the environment and the Clean Streams Initiative. The artists viewed videos and literature to gain an
understanding of their region's water issues. In 1994, the Office of Surface Mining introduced the
Appalachian Clean Streams Initiative to clean up acid drainage problems from abandoned coal mines. The
goal is for public and private organizations to work together to improve the region's ecosystem.

The Interior Museum is on the south end of the first floor of the Interior Building, 1849 C Street, NW, in
Washington, D.C. It is open free to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except
for federal holidays. Visitors must present some form of photo identification (such as a drivers license,
student ID, or employment card) when entering the Interior Building.