La Jolla Historical Society

Urban Ecologies

Urban Ecologies traces the Harrisons’ collaborative practice during the late 1960s-1990s. The wide-ranging ecological artworks, including Making Earth, Survival Pieces, and California Wash, highlight the development and evolution of the Harrisons’ ideas about regenerative agriculture and land reclamation of canyons, rivers, and watersheds in California. The viewers can also explore the Harrisons’ award-winning unrealized eco-urban works, including Horton Plaza, San Diego Round, and Miramar Landfill, in which they proposed ways to restore the natural balance of compromised ecosystems in San Diego.

A special feature of the exhibition is the fully recreated citrus grove conceived and designed in 1972 by artists. LJHS showcases A conversation with Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard on the museum’s lawn. This project raises the issue about the need for a productive and sustainable food system in an imagined future faced with environmental decline.