but are of the site. Over the years, Rockman has collected samples of organic material, sand, leaves, soil as well as less predictable material such as wombat fecal matter or sperm whale spermaceti. Selected species of flora and fauna relating directly to each site are depicted, some long extinct, some on the brink, while others have a bright future as invasive species. Great Lakes Cycle The Great Lakes Cycle is a series of five monumental paintings and six large format watercolors and 28 Field Drawings investigating the past, present and future of these bodies of water. "I wanted to do a sort of populist project about the Great Lakes and how precious they are. And how little we really consider them, in terms of what a valuable resource they have been and how incredibly valuable they will be in the future" Each 6 x 12 foot painting is read from left to right, chronicling geologic time from the past to the present, continuing to visions of the near future. That future might be challenging as the Great Lakes have long been affected by human activity, and the impact of cities, fishing, industry, farming and invasive species is likely to increase. Rockman traveled extensively around the Great Lakes region doing research, collecting source imagery, and learning about important issues affecting the lakes on the ground. The series, curated by Dana Friis Hansen, director of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, has traveled from The Grand Rapids Art museum (January 27 – April 29, 2018), to the Chicago Cultural Center (June 2—October 1, 2018), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (October 19, 2018 — January 27, 2019), The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University, Milwaukee (February 8 to May 19, 2019), the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (October 11, 2019 - January 5, 2020) and the Flint Institute of Arts ( June 11 - September 27, 2020). Each painting explores one aspect of the lakes’ history and ecology from the ice age, some 15,000 years ago, to the near future. Film and animation Rockman is fascinated by film and animation, and has admiration for the work of various film designers. Rockman admires the work of Syd Mead, fantasy art and science fiction illustrator Chesley Bonestell, and stop motion animators including Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Brothers Quay, Jan Švankmajer and Phil Tippet ; and various Eastern European avant-garde filmmakers.