Friday, January 31, 2014

The Legacy Of A Promise: 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act

I have been invited to show at the Douglas County Museum of History and Natural History in September/October 2014.  The show will be called The Legacy Of A Promise: 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Volunteers from several different organizations, such as the Umpqua Watersheds and the Umpqua National Forest are collaborating to bring together the show. Preparation for the exhibit will include conversations among the artists on the conceptual aspects of Wilderness in our culture.
I am excited to participate in this project. Over the past few years I have become more and more concerned with visually exploring our place in nature and the way we coexist. I feel some urgency about these questions. I try to give a voice to nature within the human context.


Having  wild places protected and set aside is essential to me. Wilderness has an intangible but profound effect on my spiritual, emotional and physical well-being. Just knowing that there are places left relatively untouched by human development gives me peace of mind. It makes me feel that we haven't gone too far astray as custodians of the planet; that there are banks of biodiversity to draw from and intact ecosystems to teach us. Human hubris continues to astonish me. In a small way the wild places protect ourselves from ourselves.


Since I was a child, I have spent a lot of time exploring and camping in various wildernesses. My parents shared their love of nature with me and taught me to hike and enjoy the wonder of it all. Spending time in the wilderness makes me feel small, and puts me back into perspective and balance with creation.  It is like going to church.