Arboretum speaker series features landscape artwork
For Roger Rowley, Prichard Art Gallery director, of all of the art pieces in the world, there’s a soft spot in his heart for the kind that captures the world’s scenery.
Genie Tran | Argonaut
Richard Naskali, the Arboretum Director Emeritus, participated in the discussion about Arboretum.
“We go out and aestheticize our natural environment,” Rowley said.
Arboretum fans, donors and board members gathered at the 1912 Center Wednesday night for the University of Idaho Arboretum speaker series to learn about landscape artwork.
Rowley, the speaker, detailed the craft in his presentation titled, “Landscape Inquiries.”
Rowley started his presentation with a history of landscape art, beginning with paintings — where landscapes were merely backdrops — and eventually moving to photography.
“I wanted to start with what I knew,” Rowley said. “I think it informs a lot of the way people think about landscape, a lot of their stereotypical views of what they think of the environment.”
Through landscape art, Rowley said emotions can be evoked.
As Rowley moved to more contemporary artwork, he said artists may try new approaches to traditional photography to reveal a deeper meaning.
He said landscape is an aesthetic term related to art history, and sometimes a more scientific approach is needed when addressing environmental issues.
“We have all these environmental crises, and if we approach them in terms of landscape, then our approach is guaranteed to fail,” Rowley said. “We’re looking at it, we’re trying to aestheticize the problems or the solutions that are then inline for the way that we aestheticize anything. Global warming, or other issues like that, require an answer that has nothing to do with aesthetics.”
Genie Tran | Argonaut
Roger Rowley, Director of the UI Prichard Art Gallery, presented “Landscape Inquiries” with his main focus on landscape photography and used that perspective to discuss about the Arboretum.
Rowley discussed work by Gustave Le Gray, a 19th century photographer who combined separate shots into one photograph. Rowley said this is a fact well known only to experts.
He also mentioned the color altering happens when a photo is placed online or shot to reveal slightly too vibrant hues.
“There’s as much as lie as there is a truth in every image,” he said.
Rowley was the third speaker in the series, which began January 2014. Maureen Taylor Regan, Arboretum Associates Board vice president, said the board wanted a slightly different topic than previous events — something to get the arboretum out there, but also to attract an audience.
Katherine Clancy, a donor to the Arboretum and an artist, attended the series and said she was excited to hear Rowley speak, because she was familiar with his line of work.
“I know the Prichard and I go there frequently, so I was like ‘This is art and plants all together,'” she said.
Clancy said she has close, historic ties with the Arboretum and tries to keep up-to-date on all of its latest happenings.
“Our family donated a bench to the old arboretum — it was the first bench actually… I feel I need to help sustain the Arboretum,” she said.
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected]