New Territory

I drove to the Denver Art Museum (The DAM) yesterday afternoon to see the new photography exhibit titled New Territory: Landscape Photography Today.  I must say I was not expecting to like the exhibit very much, because I am not a big fan of landscape photography.  However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised, because most of the photographs were in fact really good.

I have always thought of landscape photography as photographs of nature, of natural features such as mountains, seascapes, canyons, etc. - in other words, Ansel Adams style photography. However, this exhibit seems to consider everything except portraits as landscape photography, and therefore the photographs covered a wide range of subjects, much of it very experimental in nature. After all, does the photograph on the right look to you like a traditional landscape photograph?  If you say yes - nothing personal - but you are crazy.

Of course, many of the photographs in the exhibit are of nature, but often using new techniques that produce pretty impressive works.  I am usually not a big fan of these non-traditional methods, but you have to be impressed with the series of photos taken in the Hawaiian rain forest and then buried in the ground, producing works very much like post impressionist masterpieces.  And even traditional photos, like the one on the left, are pretty impressive.  And so I have to say I will definitely come back to see this show again before it ends, and from me that is high praise.