Addison Exhibit Explores the American Landscape

May 30, 2008 —The Addison Gallery of American Art kicked off the final addition to its spring season on Thursday, May 29 with the unveiling of The American Landscape or The Americans' Landscape?. Curated by four Phillips Academy students as part of art instructor Elaine Crivelli's Art 300 course, Visual Culture: Discovering the Addison, the exhibition is an exploration of the evolution of the American landscape via the Addison Gallery's permanent photography collection.

The student curators of the exhibit are seniors Alexander Heffner, Stephanie Schuyler, Naomi Sobelson and Kelsey Thorn. The curators write to viewers: In this exhibition, serene natural beauty collides with artificial elements to document the transformation from the American landscape to the Americans' landscape. In capturing the complex tension between the coexisting forces of land and people, the photographs suggest that neither force dominates the other—at least not for long. These selections from the Addison Gallery's collection tell a distinctly American story of exploration, recreation, industrialization, and destruction.

"In seeing reflections of the human attitude toward our environment over the course of American history, I was truly forced to reconsider how I see the world around me," said Schuyler. "It is not until one can see the visual trace of the human presence that one realizes how powerful it can be."

"Through the process of viewing and analyzing photographs, discussion, research and writing over the course of nine weeks, the four students, each with his or her own perceptions of art, all contributed to this thought-provoking exhibition, which successfully examines the dynamic and sometimes destructive relationship between mankind and the natural environment." said Crivelli.

The range of photographs is strikingly diverse, with shots from New Hampshire, California, Alabama, New Jersey, California and Utah; of geysers, windswept sedges, the water's edge, grassy hillsides and mountains; from 1885 to the mid-20th century to 1994. Notable photographers include F. Jay Haynes, William Egglesteon, Ansel Adams, Arthur Wesley Dow and William Henry Jackson.

Brian Allen, director of the Addison Gallery, embraced the museum's newest exhibition and its selected works. "The Addison's great collection of landscape photographs is here to serve the students," he said. "I'm delighted to see so many curators-in-training select and interpret some of these great treasures. I think the installation the students created is a sensitive and beautiful one."

Allen urged the Phillips Academy community to view The American Landscape or The Americans' Landscape? "The students worked hard and learned a lot," he said. "I am sure our visitors, especially the families coming to graduation and the alumni coming for reunion weekend, will love what they did." The exhibition will be on display until July 13.

For more information, call 978-749-4015, or visit the museum's Web site