Art Student Finds Artistic Creation, Collaboration at Summer Residential Fellowship

Photo Submitted

The Alchemist’s Shack II

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Luke Knox, an undergraduate student in the department of art in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, spent three weeks last summer as part of a fellowship with Mildred’s Lane, a residential art program in Pennsylvania.

Knox worked with a team of artists to create a domicile called The Alchemists Shack II. The piece focused mainly on the study of alchemical literature, ecology, the philosophical writings of Michel Foucault and the history of the occult. The group spent only a few hours a day working on the actual construction. The rest of the time was spent in-group research, visiting artist lectures, domestic chores and working on side projects geared toward preparation of the Museum of Modern Art exhibition.

“When I think about my experiences at Mildred’s Lane, I consider the people involved as the most important component of the program,” said Knox. “Never had I encountered a group of individuals so dedicated and supportive of the cause of artistic creation and collaboration.”

Knox and his fellow students formed strong connections with one another and with visiting artists, including many prominent figures in the fields of art and science.

 “I learned some valuable lessons in the power of a disciplined work ethic, and through the act of collaboration I achieved a broader sense of how to coexist with other individuals,” said Knox. “I took from this experience a new awareness of the world, and that is something immensely important not only in the realm of school and art, but also in life.”

According to its website, Mildred’s Lane is “an ongoing collaboration between J. Morgan Puett, Mark Dion, their son Grey Rabbit Puett and their friends and colleagues. It is a home and an experiment in living” that “attempts to coevolve a rigorous pedagogical strategy, where a working-living-researching environment has been developed to foster engagement with every aspect of life.” It is loosely connected to academic and artistic institutions around the world linked by the network of artists and scholars that have formed it independently and promotes a collaborative work and research ethic among individual artists and the surrounding community.

J. Morgan Puett works closely with the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Documentation from Mildred’s Lane over the past decade, works from visiting artists, recorded lectures by both artists and fellows and many more items are included in the museum's collection. The Alchemist Shack II was not showcased by the museum, but much of the work completed by Knox and his colleagues contributed to other exhibitions from Mildred’s Lane.

To learn more about Mildred’s Lane and The Alchemists Shack II, visit www.mildredslane.com.