The Dayton Art Institute
Ravaged Sublime: Landscape Photography in the 21st Century
Ravaged Sublime: Landscape Photography in the 21st Century demonstrates the continued interest in landscape imagery while revealing its evolution through the works of internationally-recognized artists Edward Burtynsky and Richard Mosse. Utilizing similar visual motifs as nineteenth-century photographers, such as expansive views that are sublime in both scale and detail, these twenty-first-century works present a dramatic shift in tone and intent. No longer do these images speak to human possibilities or nature’s hold over humans, the works presented highlight human traces on the landscape. These monumental images lure audiences into a new and previously unseen terrain, causing one to consider the environmental and political impact humans have upon the landscape. The success of these images is within their ambiguity as they are neither condemning nor condoning, but rather ask viewers to reach their own conclusions, leading to contemporary manifestations of the sublime.