NORMAN – “Deltas, Barrier Islands, and Beyond,” an exhibit that brings together world-renowned batik artist Mary Edna Fraser and her collaborator, internationally recognized geologist Orrin Pilkey, will open on Tuesday, March 7, at the Stephenson Research and Technology Center on the University of Oklahoma’s Research Campus.

Fraser and Pilkey will deliver an opening lecture on their artistic-scientific collaboration at 4:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Stephenson Research and Technology Center, 101 David L. Boren Blvd. The lecture will be followed by a reception. Both events are free and open to the public.

This interdisciplinary exhibit, sponsored by OU’s Honors College, College of Earth and Energy, College of Liberal Studies, and School of Geology and Geophysics with the assistance of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, will feature large-scale silk batiks depicting the changing natural environment, from ancient river deltas and barrier islands to the planets of our solar system.

Fraser’s work has been collected and exhibited worldwide. Her textile art work in the medium of batik employs modern dye technology, aerial photography and satellite imagery.

In 1994-95, she was the first woman to be honored with a one-woman textile exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Fraser has completed numerous public commissions, including batiks for the American Embassy in Thailand and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Her work also has also been featured in National Geographic, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and Smithsonian Magazine. Her work with Pilkey culminated in A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands (Columbia University Press, 2003), which has been hailed by critics as an exquisite “marriage of expertise and aesthetics.”

Pilkey is professor emeritus and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines. In 1987, Pilkey received the Francis Shepard medal for excellence in marine geology, and in 1991 he was the North Carolina Wildlife Federation Conservation Educator of the Year. In 1992 he became an honorary member of the Society for the Study of Sediments, and was awarded the George V. Cohee Public Service Award by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. In 1993 he was awarded (jointly with William Neal) the American Geological Institute award for outstanding public communication. In the same year, he received the Jim Shea Award for Public Service from the National Association of Geology Teachers.

A former president of the Society for the Study of Sediments and the North Carolina Academy of Science, Pilkey also has served as editor of the Journal of Sedimentary Petrology.


Tucked in the southernmost corner of the Persian Gulf lies a chain of eight or more (depending on what one counts as an island) barrier islands lining a 50-mile section of the Abu Dhabi coast. These are the hottest, driest barrier islands in the world. Uncharacteristically sharp angles and straight lines on the outline of some of these islands are caused by beachrock – beach sand, cemented in place by calcium carbonate precipitated out of seawater. – Orrin Pilkey.

Artist Statement: “The Abu Dhabi's Arid Islands batik comes from a satellite image found on the cover of the Society for Sedimentary Geology's Photo CD-2 of the arid region carbonate-evaporite systems. As an artist, I was immediately drawn to the format, the deep violet, turquoise, and sand colors, and the triangular shapes of the islands, which are unique among barrier islands.” – Mary Edna Fraser


Europe and the rims of North Africa and Greenland are seen on this batik. This view is centered on the Mediterranean Sea, a body of sea water that faces the severe biological consequences of centuries of pollution from the millions of people who live along its margins. If the ice on the Greenland rim melts, the level of the sea will rise by 20 feet, which will result in a dramatic change in the location of the world’s shorelines. – Orrin Pilkey

Artist Statement: “This global simulation is an artistic rendition of a computerized advertisement I saw in a magazine. The perspective of looking down on a large part of the earth in an oblique view larger in scale than a small aircraft would encounter intrigued me. This topographic feature of the earth's curve is part of my artistic transition to outer space and beyond.” – Mary Edna Fraser


Words fail to adequately describe the grandeur, the excitement and the profound geologic history of Arizona's Grand Canyon. It is up to a mile deep, five to 18 miles across and 200 miles long. Carved by the Colorado River, the colorful layers of rock in the canyon record more than a billion years of geologic time. – Orrin Pilkey

Artist Statement: “From a Space Shuttle photograph, the Grand Canyon looks like a feather boa floating across Marilyn Monroe's dress. I am interested in the geology of this river carved canyon compared to submarine Monterey Canyon and Mars Valis Marineris.” – Mary Edna Fraser


Hurricane Hugo approaches the South Carolina coast in 1989. A decade later, Hurricane Dennis, a more poorly organized storm with a less distinct eye, followed a similar path but eventually went ashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. – Orrin Pilkey

Artist Statement: “On Sept. 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston, S.C., packing winds of 135 miles per hour, which destroyed both my studio and years of work. This batik is derived from a Sept. 20, 1989, aerial photograph of the hurricane moving inland.” – Mary Edna Fraser


The Indian Ocean tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, was the greatest natural catastrophe in the history of the world. Many tens of thousands of people living at low elevations next to open ocean shores perished. The tsunami was caused by displacement of water that resulted from the movement of deep ocean tectonic plates on the sea floor near Sumatra. Unfortunately, there was no credible tsunami warning system in place on either side of the Indian Ocean. – Orrin Pilkey

Artist Statement: “Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake struck off the Indonesian island Sumatra, devastating nearby areas. The wave could be as tall as 80 feet and killed nearly 300,000 people. Shock waves were measured as far away as Oklahoma, which registered vertical movements of 33 millimeters or .12 inches. This batik was derived from a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration image.” – Mary Edna Fraser

The exhibit will remain on view through April 7.

For more information and/or accommodations on the basis of disability, call Sarah Tracy at (405) 325-3057.
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