Published On May 6, 2024
Recent graduate Claire Begalla ’24 shows off their work completing two senior capstones in studio art and digital screen media studies through a visual enthnography.
"Through the creation of a visual ethnography, I sought to demonstrate—both through words and material—how particular plants, and plant-human relationships, reflect the moral values of individual herbalists. My process involved photographing and interviewing herbalists, creating paper from kudzu, crafting a book cover from birch bark, cyanotyping my photographs, and binding them with kudzu fibers. The undertaking of this visual ethnography allowed me to tap into almost all areas of my liberal arts education at Davidson—anthropology, environmental science, bookmaking, printmaking, and art history."