The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Lens

Institution
Carnegie Museum of Art
Grant Cycle
Spring 2023
Amount
$100,000
Type of Grant
Exhibition Support
Website
carnegieart.org/exhibition/widening-the-lens ↗
Xaviera Simmons, Sundown (Number 2), 2018, Inkjet print 38 in. x 60 in
A.K. Burns, before the wake, 2014, Spirulina, polyurethane, and image ripped from a photography book, 9 in. x 10 1/2 in
Chanell Stone American, Cotton Mud, 2022, Inkjet print 50 in. x 60 in.
Victoria Sambunaris, Untitled (Dune buggy), All American Canal, CA, 2021, Chromogenic print, 55 in. x 77 in.
Xaviera Simmons, Sundown (Number 80), 2018, Inkjet print, 60 in. x 38 in
David O. Alekhuogie, Still life with jerk chicken, 2022, Inkjet fabric collage on canvas, 60 x 49 in.
Sam Contis, Untitled, 2020-2022, Two gelatin silver prints in separate frames, diptych, 14 1/8 in. x 11 1/8 in.
Mark A. McKnight, The Grave of Love, 2021, Gelatin silver print, 48 in. x 60 in.
Justine Kurland, Forest, 1998, Inkjet print, 30 in. x 40 in.
Dionne Lee, Fire Bed, 2019, Gelatin silver print, 20 in. x 16 in.
Erin Jane Nelson, Bladderwort, 2023, Silk and cotton pigment prints, embroidered patches, cotton batting, nylon, 39 in. x 46 in. x 2 1/2 in.
Sky Hopinka, Cowboy Mouth 2 (Yoiréreginagere), 2022, Inkjet print with hand scratched text and uv laminate, 40 in. x 40 in.
David O. Alekhuogie, Borrowed Recipe 1, 2021, Inkjet print on canvas, 40 in. x 32 in.

Photography has dramatically altered our access to, understanding of, and impact on the natural world. Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape examines environmental history and degradation, particularly in the American landscape, as well as urgent concerns about climate change, through the camera lens. Featuring nearly 100 works by 19 different artists with multiple museum premieres and new commissions, this exhibition invites viewers to reconsider their relationship to the environment and understand how photography helps envision alternative paths forward.

Widening the Lens showcases works in a range of formats, including classic black-and-white prints, chromogenic and inkjet prints, mixed-media works, video, and immersive installations. The exhibition is divided into four themes: “Archive” explores the power of memory to animate the landscape of the present by highlighting artists who incorporate historical images into their work, “Remembering” features practices that draw strength from their relationship to collective knowledge, “Pathfinding” examines human adaptability to the changing environment, and “Horizon” considers environmental anxiety and speculative futures.

Widening the Lens presents a multi-faceted picture of contemporary ecological issues as they intersect with racial, economic and political life. Surfacing perspectives that have been historically underrepresented in museums and environmental discourse, it will offer multiple points of entry to a truly global problem.

See Also

1976

Warhol acquires the first of several compact 35 mm cameras, and over the next 11 years shot approximately 130,000 black-and-white images, claiming that “having a few rolls of film to develop gives me a good reason to get up in the morning.”