Beth Gallup | Objects in the Landscape, Too

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Beth Gallup, “Tag on the Train Bridge,” no date

(courtesy of the artist)

Art, especially commercial art, usually depicts what we collectively define as beautiful. Deviations from what we believe to be the natural landscape norm rarely make it into the picture. Deftly omitted, the lack of infrastructure has become a significant visual silence. Rarely, do we stand in front of an aesthetic work and say, “I wonder what material objects were left out.”

Philosophers view objects as places of discovery about our perceptions of reality. From this perspective, the utilitarian objects widely present in natural landscapes, and in this exhibit, are places of discovery. This is exciting, an opportunity for audience and artist to together explore new views. These might just be literal views. They could also be emotional views, the letting go of bucolic myths, the (re)discovery of our dependence on the power industrial intrusions give us to manage nature.