A new art display featuring insects inside Skeen Hall at New Mexico State University highlights years of student creativity and scientific discovery, thanks to a collaboration between Scott Bundy, entomology professor, Courtney Uldrich, the collection curator for the University Art Museum, and student assistants Maya Jo Yurcic and Olivia Juedeman.
The display features standout pieces dating back to 2017, with artwork that ranges from paintings to mixed-media creations that capture the intricate beauty and complexity of insects.
Bundy described insects as “works of art on their own. I just love getting people to see them in a new way.”
The display on a wall in the northeast corner of Skeen Hall second floor, features artwork created by Bundy’s former entomology students in a course designed to deepen students’ understanding of the importance of insects and their influence on human lives. The students were encouraged to complete a creative project that often includes visual art inspired by their studies.
“The overall goal is for people who typically aren’t majoring in entomology to understand how important insects are, the good and the bad things about them and how they affect our lives,” Bundy said. “Many students, whether they have an art background or not, are inspired to create art as part of their project.”
Matthew Cota, a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art, provided two paintings of moths.
“For my first piece in the insect installation, Dryandra Moth, I worked digitally in Procreate using blending brushes that simulated watercolors to create a sense of softness in the rendering of the caterpillar,” Cota said. “This delicate texture is contrasted with the bright, flat colors I used in the eyespots and backgrounds to create a sense of psychedelia that complemented the freaky animated quality of the dryandra caterpillar’s markings.”
His second piece, Actias ningpoana, is an oil painting inspired by the Chinese moon moth. “I gave the piece a galactic background to complement the celestial namesake of this moth and its ethereal appearance,” Cota explained. “The beautiful but useful projections on their hindwings confuse the ultrasonic waves of bats looking to eat them, something I found fascinating.”
Bundy noticed his students produced unique and visually striking pieces.
“The students came up with some really cool things,” Bundy said. “I started keeping the ones I thought would be great for an art wall because I wanted people to see how insects inspired them to create.”
Bundy acknowledged that he needed help bringing his vision to life.
“I study insects, and I’m not good with the art part of it,” Bundy said. “Courtney and her team brought expertise in presenting material that I just couldn’t do.”
Uldrich, Yurcic and Juedeman worked with Bundy to ensure the display was both visually captivating and informative.
“A lot of what we’re doing at the museum is promoting professional practices for our students,” Uldrich said. “This project is a great example of allowing the students to work on a project from start to finish, giving them the chance to design, communicate and install a display while learning the tools necessary for professional growth.”
Yurcic, an art history major and museum conservation minor, took the lead on designing and installing the display.
“This was really the first time I created a virtual layout to install artwork,” Yurcic said. “We started by taking measurements, photos, and titles of each piece, then creating a digital model using Photoshop.”
Yurcic also created the display’s vinyl title using Adobe Illustrator and a vinyl cutter at the museum.
“It was incredible seeing the digital design come to life on the wall,” she said.
Though Yurcic described herself as largely self-taught in design software, she appreciated the professional challenge.
“I’d never done anything quite like this before,” she said. “But it was exciting to take the reins on such a meaningful project.”
Olivia Juedeman assisted with the installation.
“I mainly helped MJ install,” Judeman said. “We used security hardware, which was new for us. We really didn’t have much experience in that, so it was a learning experience for both of us.”
“Now that we got it established, I think we definitely want to expand,” Bundy said. “The room’s big enough, and it would be nice to keep it dynamic.”
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Cutline: From left: At New Mexico State University, student assistant Maya Jo Yurcic, Courtney Uldrich, collection curator for the University Art Museum; Scott Bundy, entomology professor; and student assistant Oliva Juedeman stand in front of the insect art wall installation in Skeen Hall’s second floor breakroom. (NMSU Photo by Josh Bachman)
Cutline: Scott Bundy, NMSU professor of entomology, stands in front of the 13 by 9-foot art wall that features his entomology students artwork through a collaboration with the University Art Museum. (NMSU Photo by Josh Bachman)
Cutline: Dryandra Moth by Matthew Cota, presents a vibrant depiction of the insect set against a cosmic backdrop. (NMSU Photo by Scott Hause)
Cutline: Actias ningpoana caterpillar by Matthew Cota captures the intricate details of the species. (NMSU Photo by Scott Hause)