Freshman Reading Program

In conjunction with this year's Freshman Reading Program (FRP) at Washington University, the Kemper Art Museum will have on display selections of contemporary photography that connect with the themes and issues in this year's FRP book: Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. by Elizabeth Kolbert. Chosen from the Museum's permanent collection, these artworks address the themes of nature and the environment in very different ways than Kolbert's book, challenging us to consider landscape art and its impact.

Alan Sekula's work entitled Volunteer's Soup (2002-3) depicts the human element involved in the Prestige oil spill of 2002, one of the worst environmental disasters in history in which an oil tanker spilled more than 20 million gallons of oil into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain. Composed of two parts--the upper image shows a close-up of a volunteer eating soup, set against a panoramic view of the ocean, while the lower photograph captures a detail of the oil-coated sea--this work simultaneously emphasizes beautiful forms and appalling realism.

The work on display by photographer Armin Linke highlights the Ertan Dam project in the remote region of Panzhihua, China--one of the world's largest arch dams towering at 240 meters in height. Linke's panoramic image captures the dam a year before the last of its six turbines started production. Providing energy to sustain over 120 million people living and farming in the remote region of Panzhihua, China, the Ertan Dam's success as a symbol of technological advancement seemed paramount. Yet, similar to China's larger Three Gorges River Dam, the Ertan project has been linked with a host of serious environmental issues as well as the displacement of more than 42,000 people.

Student and University groups are invited to visit the Kemper Art Museum throughout the fall semester to engage with these and other images in connection with the larger issues of globalization and the environmental impact of human activity as presented in Kolbert's book. The Museum's Education department will also be hosting visits by students from several area high schools for book discussions and conversations about the contemporary photography on special display.

To arrange a facilitated discussion of these works in conjunction with the themes of the Freshman Reading Program, please contact Michael Murawski, Coordinator of Education & Public Programs, at murawski@wustl.edu or 314.935.7918.

Artwork Guide (.pdf) >>

RELATED LINKS
Photo Essay of Prestige Oil Spill
http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/oilspill

WWF: Prestige Oil Spill
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/crisis/spain_oil_spill/index.cfm

China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=chinas-three-gorges-dam-disaster