Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape brings together essays, poetry, and newly commissioned artwork to interrogate how photography has shaped — and been shaped by — humanity's relationship with the land and its socio-political underpinnings.
About This Book
At its core, this publication asks two urgent questions: how has photography documented humanity's relationship with the land, and how has the accelerating pace of image-making in turn altered human ecology? Inspired by a generation of contemporary artists charting the past, present, and possible futures of landscape photography, the book weaves critical essays, new poetry, and commissioned artworks into a sustained argument for ecological awareness. It speaks directly to anyone working at the intersection of visual culture, environmental politics, and contemporary art — and to those who understand that how we picture the landscape is inseparable from how we treat it.
Key Features
- 236 pages of essays, poetry, and newly commissioned artwork exploring photography and landscape ecology
- Introduction by Dan Leers, curator of photography at Carnegie Museum of Art; essay by curator, writer, and activist Lucy R. Lippard; new poetry by Saretta Morgan; epilogue by journalist Michelle Nijhuis
- Published by Carnegie Museum of Art
What You'll Discover
- How contemporary artists are using photography to expose the socio-political processes embedded within landscape representation
- The relationship between the accelerating pace of image-making and its measurable effects on human ecology and environmental perception
- Lucy R. Lippard's critical perspective on art, activism, and the politics of land — brought into dialogue with visual and poetic works
- How poetry, specifically Saretta Morgan's new work, functions alongside photography as a mode of ecological reckoning rather than mere accompaniment
About the Author
Dan Leers is curator of photography at Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. He contributed the introduction to this volume, framing its central questions around photography's evolving role in documenting and mediating humanity's relationship with landscape.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 236
- Dimensions: 29.2 x 21 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780880390743
- Publisher: Carnegie Museum of Art
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Photographers, curators, and critics engaged with landscape and ecological discourse; designers and architects thinking through the politics of environment and representation; students of visual culture, environmental humanities, or contemporary art.