Wild West Show
Joslyn opens new photography exhibit
By Edward Watkins
The American West has long been the subject of many artists. Perhaps the most notable artist was Ansel Adams, whose works extensively documented parks such as the Grand Canyon, the High Sierra and other national parks before they were impacted by tourism.
But by the 1970s, American photography underwent a paradigm shift from natural landscapes to the contemporary surroundings of urban and suburban developments.
This new movement is the focus of “American Landscape: Contemporary Photographs of the West,” a new exhibition at the Joslyn. The exhibit was developed by the Joslyn’s new chief curator Toby Jurovics.
“We all have this desire for wilderness and open space. We also live in an industrialized society. It places a lot of demands on resources. How do you build in this kind of dialogue about industry and exploration and settlement?” Jurovics said.
Jurovics has long had an interest in the American West starting with his first display in 1993.
“As a curator or historian most of us tend to gravitate towards a particular field. It has to be something you feel passionate about,” Jurovics said. “I’ve always been interested in landscape and the environment. There are several great narratives you could look to in American art and one of them is the West.”
The event showcases more than 80 pieces from 14 contributing artists. Notable examples include works from Mark Ruwedel, who focuses on the railroads’ impact on landscape, and John Fitch, who focuses not on naturally-occurring landscapes but interior shots of period-specific buildings. Other exhibits utilize tintype, a form of photography that creates a direct positive on sheets of iron metal in place of traditional canvas.
“It’s about trying to find photographs that are thematically consistent and create a seamless dialogue in the gallery,” Jurovics said. “A lot of landscape work has become overtly political, and while I agree with it, I think in the context of an art museum what I was interested in was finding work that seeks a balance between those two poles,” Jurovics said.
Though this is his first exhibition as chief curator at the Joslyn, Jurovics has held more than 60 events at various museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Princeton University.
“I’ve never been more relaxed before a major exhibition,” Jurovics said. “We have a great staff here and we’re ahead of the game which is a nice position to be in. It’s always exciting to have an exhibition open, but by the time it’s on the wall you’re already thinking about your next show as well.”
In the end, Jurovics hopes the exhibit, like all of the displays at the Joslyn, will leave a lasting impression on those who come to see it.
“I think we have the same goal for any show no matter what the theme,” Jurovics said. “We hope that you will see something in the museum that will either delight or inspire or cause you to think or reflect seriously about something. It’s something you take out of the museum with you.”