SOUTH GALLERY

 

–  Noah McLaurine  –

A Gradual Loss

March 7 – April 6, 2019

Noah McLaurine’s large-scale color images combine the traditional landscape with contemporary photographic realities: how do we approach and photograph public lands in a culture where everyone has a camera, when everyone’s evidence is the same? What impact does that have on the places we visit? How do we make art of the attempt to convey the scale and beauty of western spaces?

By bringing his pedestal to various locations for these photographs, and bringing back some physical part of the land, Noah references photography’s impact and language along with its relationship to the legacy of land preservation. We “take” photos when we venture into public land but what is it that we are taking? Are we taking ownership? Is a photograph a document without a footprint?

With his writing and presentation, Noah works to allow us our interest in engaging the landscape affectionately through photography’s realism and effectiveness at conveying a specific place at a specific time, but we are also able to apply a contemporary thoughtfulness in addressing the context of these images. Noah’s work is unique in that it both confronts and allows us our faults – combining artistic license with technical beauty.