This summer the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence invites you to enjoy some sunshine and be part of the public work of art here-ing, created by artist Janine Antoni. By walking a path in the shape of the anatomy of the human ear, your footsteps will help create a labyrinth located at the KU Field Station.
“here-ing is made in collaboration with its visitors. When you walk the labyrinth, you leave a path for others to follow and together we all make the artwork,” Antoni said.
Nestled within the tall grass at the Field Station’s Suzanne Ecke McColl Nature Reserve, here-ing is an ongoing collaboration of the Spencer Museum of Art, which commissioned Antoni for the project, the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, and the Designbuild Studio in the KU School of Architecture & Design. At the heart of the project is an invitation for the public to connect with their own bodies by relating to the landscape.
“As with all labyrinths, walking the circuitous path gives us an opportunity to slow down, arrive in our bodies, and enter a receptive state,” Antoni said.
You can visit here-ing for free any day between sunrise and sunset. here-ing is searchable on Google maps and the entrance is adjacent to the Roth Trailhead at E 1600 Road, north of the Lawrence Airport. The path is currently just under a mile and elevation change is minimal, however it is not ADA accessible. Visitors should plan to wear closed-toe shoes with socks, long pants, a hat, and lots of sunscreen.
Free guided tours of the labyrinth are available on the following days, weather permitting:
- June 17 and 18 at 10AM and 3PM with artist Janine Antoni
- June 23 and 30 at 4PM with Spencer Museum Curator Joey Orr
