A New Exhibition Takes Flight

Art professor and environmental advocate, Deirdre Murphy’s work to be in the first contemporary art exhibition at the Audubon Center at Mill Grove

In the lively classroom space of Building C, artist Deirdre Murphy is in her element. Surrounded by her flock of students and their works-in-progress, Murphy’s prints, mixed media, and paintings inspire a fun and hopeful approach to conservation. Beautiful, bright colors draw in the viewer, while her enthusiasm for art, climate activism, and teaching do the rest.

Found feathers fall to the floor as Murphy pulls out her latest collaborative mixed-media project. Her work often features birds and explores themes of environmental awareness and justice. Much of her art has been inspired by the work of John James Audubon among other early naturalists. Lehigh’s special collections even has a double elephant folio book of over 400 prints from his The Birds of North America, Murphy notes excitedly. “[Birds] have this ability to see from multiple vantage points. And as an artist, we try to see the world differently. And so I always envied birds—still do—that ability.”

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences News.