Grounded: Life is Soil, Soil is Life

Beneath our feet is one of Earth’s most important resources. Crops grow in it, an astonishing diversity of life can be found in it, the health of our planet depends on it. A new exhibit in Mann Library’s lobby and Top Shelf Gallery explores the beauty and life-sustaining qualities of soil.

Planned in collaboration with the Cornell Soil Health Lab, “Grounded” examines some of the different values that humans derive from soil—agricultural, environmental, aesthetic—both historically and in the cutting-edge science being developed at Cornell University. The installation includes a selection of richly hued and textured soil paintings created by Kirsten Kurtz both in her studio and in community celebrations held in and around the Ithaca area. As the science and the art on display in this exhibit show, in appreciating the vibrancy of life found in healthy soil, we begin to better understand its importance to our future.

In conjunction with Mann’s “Grounded” exhibit. a Soil Fair will take place as part of Ag Day on the Ag Quad on Friday, September 30, 9:00 – 4:30 p.m. Look for us on the Tsujimoto Family Plaza in front of Mann Library to explore some of the amazing things to be learned about the ground that’s right here, beneath our feet. Prepare to be awestruck!

Also viewable at Mann Library through October 2022: “Shared Space: Seasonal color shift of species succession” by Jenifer Wightman, a bioart installation that is part of the 2022 Cornell Biennial 2022.