Two new exhibitions featuring the work of international artist and cultural activist Chris Jordan, and works of art recently acquired by the Museum of Art at the University of New Hampshire will go on view this weekend.

“Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers” and “What’s New: Recent Additions to the Collection” will open to the public with a preview reception on Friday, Jan. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the museum, which is located inside the Paul Creative Arts Center, 30 Academic Way, on campus.

Chris Jordan exhibit

The Jordan exhibit features 16 large-scale digital images that explore contemporary mass culture from a variety of photographic and conceptual perspectives.

“Walking the line between art and activism, beauty and horror, and abstraction and representation, his fabricated landscapes asks us to consider our own multilayered roles in the deterioration of our environmental surroundings,” curators said. “These thought- provoking images use the language of statistics to examine issues important to contemporary American culture through the depiction of specific quantities of something tangible— the number of cell phones retired each day or the number of plastic bottles used in the United States every five minutes.

“By translating these numbers into photographs, he asks viewers to question their responsibilities in a society that is based increasingly on consumption,” curators said.

Associated programs

In conjunction with the showing, The Museum of Art and the UNH Sustainability Academy announced the UNH Student Image and Video Contest: What Sustainability Means to Me.

The goal of the contest is to create a collection of videos and images showcasing the sustainability commitment and actions UNH students are undertaking.

Public ArtBreak programs offered at the Museum of Art include: * a discussion with Tom Kelly, chief sustainability officer, UNH Sustainability Academy, and Doug Bencks, University architect and director of campus planning (Feb. 8, noon); * an Artist Talk by New Hampshire eco-artist and photographer Tim Gaudreau (Feb. 15, noon); * a Gallery Talk by Kristina Durocher, director, Museum of Art, UNH (Feb. 22, noon); * a Family Day program during school vacation week; * and a Video Competition Presentation by winners of “What Does Sustainability Mean to Me?” (March 21, noon).

Additions to gallery

“What’s New: Recent Additions to the Collection” showcases 19 drawings, paintings, prints, and sculpture, by regional and national artists.

Exhibited works include those by Sigmund Abeles, Ben Aronson, Christopher Barnes, Todd Bartel, Ilya Bolotowsky, Larry Dinkin, Audrey Flack, Johnny Friedlander, Avra Leordas, Marilyn Levin, John Matos, Maud Cabot Morgan, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Alfred Potter, Louis C. Rosenberg, Ernest P. Roth, Daniel K. Tennant, Victor Vasarely, and Karl Zerbe.

Special ArtBreak programs offered include a Gallery Talk by Museum of Art fellows Sarah Nelson, Sam Rheaume and Hillary Swartz on March 7 at noon.

The Museum of Art is open during the academic year from Mondays through Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m., excepting university holidays and March 9-18.

For more information, call 862-3712 or log onto unh.edu/moa.