DATE: 10/3/06

CONTACTS: Ernie Denny, (864) 650-8841; edenny@clemson.edu

Roy Scott, (864) 656-4391; rlscott@clemson.edu

WRITER: Diane Palmer, (864) 656-4741; spalmer@clemson.edu

Clemson’s Touch the Earth video will air on SCETV

CLEMSON – A Clemson University video entitled “Touch the Earth…Nils-Udo’s Clemson Clay Nest” will premier on South Carolina Educational Television Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

The video features German artist and author Nils-Udo as he creates the largest nature-based sculpture of his career in the South Carolina Botanical Garden. The 300-acre garden is the nation’s pioneer in nature-based sculpture as public art.

The month-long creative process captures the character of the artist as his vision is realized using tons of red clay and pine logs, while being challenged by time and circumstance. His work is completed on time with the help of Clemson students and faculty.

Nils-Udo began his career as a painter, before discovering his true artistic vocation in nature -- an adventure that has taken him to all four corners of the planet: from India to Mexico, from Namibia to Japan.

Inspired by materials he finds on site, he rearranges elements of nature before capturing the microcosm he has created in a photograph. Nils-Udo's photographs are exhibited in museums all over the world, and he has been invited to create installations on five continents.

The video was produced by Clemson University’s Video Production Services. David White was director.

To learn more about the Nature-Based Sculpture program, go to the S.C. Botanical Garden website at: http://www.clemson.edu/scbg/.

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