"Altered Landscapes"

"Altered Landscapes" is a juried exhibition planned for July 17 - September 11, 2014. It is supported by a major grant from the Community Sustainability Commission to raise awareness about environmental realities and provoke a dialogue aimed at creating a sustainable future for our community. The exhibition will showcase the artist’s response to our changing environment through traditional landscape techniques or through more immediate, conceptual approaches. This is art that departs from idealized notions of scenic beauty and pristine wilderness that were dominant in the early 20th century. We want to show work that depicts altered states of the natural landscape and documents the artist’s response. It will reveal the undefined lines between nature and industry, the gaps and secret places between natural and mediated spaces. We want to raise concerns over the scale, tempo and irreversibility of environmental change. We intend to avoid artwork that is superficial or propagandistic. The exhibit will bring the viewer into an awareness of how human activity and constructed environments have altered the landscape both internally and externally. Altered Landscapes will ultimately celebrate the natural resilience inherent in our world, which is there to be nourished and encouraged.