Landscapes Seen and Imagined:
Sense of Place
Dewey Family Gallery, Millipore Foundation Gallery
Ongoing
Ernst Halberstadt, Cranberry Bogs, pastel on paper, 19" x 24",
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Stone; Collection of
DeCordova Museum
In the exhibition Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place, organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, 48 artists present us with their interpretations of landscape. The 54 landscapes represent a variety of styles and media, including paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs, as well as one sculptural relief.
Alex MacLean, Tobacco Barn—Hatfield, MA, 5/1/77, cibachrome print, 20" x 24", Gift of Arlette and Gus Kayafas; Collection of DeCordova Museum
Whether we realize it or not, the places that we inhabit affect us on a daily basis. How do we define a particular place? We can be descriptive, listing geographic and topographical features, and noting details of landscape, architecture, and location. Or, we can evoke a sense of the place by talking about its emotional presence—its mood, colors, atmosphere, and how it makes us feel to be there. No two people will describe the same place in the same way, thus making the interpretation of place a very personal process. The exhibition is loosely organized by category, including abstract landscapes, observed reality, fantasy and symbolic landscapes, cultural landscapes, and landscapes about environmental issues.
The artists included in the exhibition are Maxine Yalovitz-Blankenship, Michael Mazur, Richard Sheehan, Gregory Amenoff, Valta Us, Kate Freedberg, Martha Jane Bradford, Flora Natapoff, Ed Stitt, David Fullam, Michele Boll, Scott Prior, Joel Babb, Sarah Supplee, Kib Bramhall, Harry Bartnick, Dennis Pinette, Alan Bray, Mary Sherwood, Samuel Bak, Ruth Bauer, Frances Hamilton, Wade Zahares, Maria Muller, Lawrence Kupferman, Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz, Frank Gohlke, Gregg LeFevre, Stephen Dirado, Len Gittleman, Reed Kay, James Fitzgerald, Jack Clift, Abelardo Morell, Mary Kocol, Timothy Harney, Bradford Washburn, Alex MacLean, Harry Callahan, Harvey Halpern, Harold Edgerton, David Mussina, Robert ParkeHarrison, Bill Ravensi, Barbara Swan, Ernst Halberstadt, Cathryn Griffin, and Helen Miranda Wilson.
Wade Zahares, Where Are the Telephone Poles, 1998, pastel on paper, 28" x 29"; Collection of DeCordova Museum
Landscapes Seen and Imagined: Sense of Place is accompanied by a new installation in the Germeshausen Art ExperienCenter, which includes original videos about four artists in the exhibition. The Art ExperienCenter is aimed at ages 5 on upward and provides hands-on experiences related to the permanent collection exhibition.
Mary Kocol, View from the Old Porch, 1991, color photograph, 37 x 25";
Gift of Don and Jeanne Stanton; Collection of DeCordova Museum
