James Balog: Photographs from the Anthropocene presents a series of photographs that describes the ancient cyclical patterns of the earth’s […]
James Balog: Photographs from the Anthropocene presents a series of photographs that describes the ancient cyclical patterns of the earth’s life forms and the impact of human activity.
For four decades, James Balog has studied ancient cultural assumptions about the relationship between human nature and the rest of nature.
Through innovative imagery, his projects interpret significant aspects of what has changed, what’s survived, and what changes are projected for the future. His photographs reveal nature’s dazzling beauty and its capacity for destruction.
For instance, the clearing of forests for habitation and commerce endangers animal and plant species and can change weather patterns which can lead to prolonged droughts, which can, in turn, trigger hotter and more frequent fires in the remaining forests. Balog’s passion to understand these patterns drives him. His talent is to photograph and film them in ways that not only seduce viewers with nature’s rich varieties and splendor but evoke questions about what is happening and why.
The exhibition is divided into five sections—Survivors, Techno Sapiens, Altering Earth, On Fire, and Vanishing Ice, which reflect his projects over four decades.
This exhibition has been co-organized by the Earth Vision Institute and the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography, Minneapolis/Paris/Lausanne, in association with the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art.
Support for the exhibition James Balog: Photographs from the Anthropocene is provided by the Gardner Bilingual Fund and the members of The San Diego Museum of Art. Institutional support for the Museum is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
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As of July 1, 2023, the Museum of Photographic Arts and The San Diego Museum of Art have merged to become one unified institution. The Museum of Photographic Arts is now the Museum of Photographic Arts at The San Diego Museum of Art (MOPA@SDMA).
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