Field to Palette: Dialogues on Soil and Art in the Anthropocene is an investigation of the cultural meanings, representations, and values of soil in a time of planetary change. The book offers critical reflections on some of the most challenging environmental problems of our time, including land take, groundwater pollution, desertification, and biodiversity loss. At the same time, the book celebrates diverse forms of resilience in the face of such challenges, beginning with its title as a way of honoring locally controlled food production methods championed by "field to plate" movements worldwide. By focusing on concepts of soil functionality, the book weaves together different disciplinary perspectives in a collection of dialogue texts between artists and scientists, interviews by the editors and invited curators, essays and poems by earth scientists and humanities scholars, soil recipes, maps, and DIY experiments. With contributions from over 100 internationally renowned researchers and practitioners, Field to Palette presents a set of visual methodologies and worldviews that expand our understanding of soil and encourage readers to develop their own interpretations of the ground beneath our feet.

Dr. Alexandra R. Toland is a visual artist and environmental planner

with research interests in ecosystem services, urban ecology, soil and

culture, and the Anthropocene. She is junior professor for arts and

research at the Bauhaus University of Weimar and has previously

lectured at the Technische Universität Berlin, University of Arts Berlin

(UDK), Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and Leuphana University. She

co-chaired the German Soil Science Society's Commission on Soils in

Education and Society from 2011 to 2015 with Gerd Wessolek and

continues to write and make artwork about soil.

Dr. Jay Stratton Noller is professor of landscape pedology and

head of the Department of Crop and Soil Science at Oregon State

University. His research focuses on morphologistics and human

interactions with soils in modern and ancient agricultural and forest

landscapes of the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. His

experience crosses disciplines of soil science, geomorphology, art,

and archaeology and his work as an artist at Soilscape Studio LLC is

internationally recognized.

Dr. Gerd Wessolek is a soil physicist and painter who has pioneered

efforts at giving soils and soil science a broader exposure to wider

audiences through presentations, exhibitions, and soil art projects.

Information on his research on urban soils in the vadose zone and an

online gallery can be found at http://www.boden.tu-berlin.de. Since

1999 he has been chair of the Soil Protection Department at the

Technische Universität Berlin.

Field to Palette: Dialogues on Soil and Art in the Anthropocene is an investigation of the cultural meanings, representations, and values of soil in a time of planetary change. The book offers critical reflections on some of the most challenging environmental problems of our time, including land take, groundwater pollution, desertification, and biodiversity loss. At the same time, the book celebrates diverse forms of resilience in the face of such challenges, beginning with its title as a way of honoring locally controlled food production methods championed by "field to plate" movements worldwide. By focusing on concepts of soil functionality, the book weaves together different disciplinary perspectives in a collection of dialogue texts between artists and scientists, interviews by the editors and invited curators, essays and poems by earth scientists and humanities scholars, soil recipes, maps, and DIY experiments. With contributions from over 100 internationally renowned researchers and practitioners, Field to Palette presents a set of visual methodologies and worldviews that expand our understanding of soil and encourage readers to develop their own interpretations of the ground beneath our feet.

I. SUSTENANCE

1. Urban Farming: The New Green Revolution?
Agnes Denes and Rattan Lal in conversation with Alexandra Toland

2. Taste of Place: Terroir as Experience
Laura Parker in conversation with Tom Willey, Lou Preston and Scott Burns

3. A Root Stew from the Kitchen of Sarah Wiener
Sarah Wiener

4. Artisanal Soil
Sue Spaid

5. Black Gold
Tattfoo Tan

6. Temple of Holy Shit: On Human-Soil Nutrient Cycles and the Future of Sustainable Sanitation
Valentina Karga, Ayumi Matsuzaka and Stephen Nortcliff in conversation with Alexandra Toland

7. S.Oil
Maria Michails and Ronald Amundson in conversation with Alexandra Toland

8. Murray River Punch: A Conversation on Changes Along the River
Richard MacEwan and Bonita Ely

9. Yield
Matthew Moore and Brent Clothier in conversation with Alexandra Toland

10. On Corn Mothers and Meal Culture: Ecofeminist Alternatives to Food Politics and Soil Security
Roxanne Swentzell and Parto Teherani-Krönner in conversation with Alexandra Toland

11. Soil Genesis: A Dialogue for Creation
Veronique Maria and Olafur Arnalds

12. A Kind of Soil Genesis on Canvas
Ulrike Arnold in dialogue with Thomas Scholten, Facilitation and text: Bettina Dornberg

13. Painting with Earth: Earth Pigments in North Devon a Guide for Teachers and Artists
Peter Ward

14. Pedometrics, Pictures, and Poetry
Elvira Wersche and Alex McBratney

15. From Earth
Herman de Vries in conversation with Nico van Breemen

16. Correlation Drawing/Drawing Correlations
Margaret Boozer and Richard K. Shaw in conversation with Claire Huschle

17. Mineral Traces: The Aesthetic and Environmental Transcendence of Soil Mineral Properties
Sarah Hirneisen, Jason Stuckey and Don Sparks

18. A Snapshot in Time: The Dynamic and Ephemeral Structure of Peatland Soils
Laura Harrington and Jeff Warburton

19. Carbon
Taru Sandén in dialogue with Alexandra Toland, postscript and images by Terike Haapoja

20. Deep-Time Moles: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Geological Archiving
Dave Griffiths, Sam Illingworth, Matt Girling

21. Honoring Soil Hydrology in Pictures
Gerd Wessolek

22. Waterviz at Hubbard Brook: The Confluence of Science, Art and Music at Long Term Ecological Research Sites
Lindsey Rustad, Xavier Cortada, Marty Quinn, Torrin Hallett

23. Aesthetic Engineering: Giving Visual Credence to Restoration Processes
Bruce James, Daniel McCormick and Mary O'Brien

24. Rocks, Radishes, and Restoration: On the Relationships Between Clean Water and Healthy Soil
Aviva Rahmani and Ray Weil

25. Dirt Dialogue
A conversation with Jackie Brookner, compiled and completed by Maxine Levin

26. WATERWASH for a Swimmable Bronx River
Lillian Ball and Edward R. Landa

27. Backyard Portals: A Solutions-Oriented Approach to Valuing Soil
Stacy Levy in dialogue with Patrick Drohan

28. Don't Worry, It's Only Mud
Patricia Watts and Amy Lipton in conversation with Mel Chin

29. The Art of Decay: Soil Decomposition Explored Through the Visual Arts
Farrah Fatemi and Laura Fatemi

30. Exploring the Invisible: The Exemplary Life of Soil
Simon F. Park

31. SOILED. Reflecting A Natural Body Thr…