Preview
Image Date
2-1-2019
Description
Sonja Hinrichsen Big Circle (from 'Snow Drawings'), 2009 digital print on paper 21 x 26 inches 2009.11.1.5 DePauw University purchase
Exhibit Date
February 1 – August 1, 2019
Exhibit Description
Visit a museum today, and it’s likely that a major blockbuster exhibition of impressionist painting or perhaps documentary photographs will find the galleries crowded with visitors. Landscape, vis-à-vis observational artmaking, provides an accessible entry point for both casual and frequent museum goers. The subject matter is identifiable, relatable, and the many movements within the genre—including impressionism and hyperrealism—have withstood the test of time. Yet, as with all art genres, the artist mediates the viewer’s understanding of reality and fiction through a complex balancing act of artistic and creative control. As viewers, how do we reconcile the role that artists play as arbiters of reality and artistic vision? Is the world of the artist’s landscape as simple as it might appear at first glance, or is there perhaps more complexity behind these seemingly simple renderings of the landscape? Constructed Landscapes highlights over 50 works drawn from the DePauw University permanent art collection and asks us to meditate on one particular perspective: is the artistic landscape a true representation of reality, or is it simply a construct—an invention of the artist’s mind? Whether intended as memorial, analogy, historical document, or perhaps even a creative exercise, the artist’s landscape reminds us that the way we render and translate the world around us is critical to understanding our place in the 21st century.
Recommended Citation
Galleries, Peeler, "Constructed Landscapes" (2019). Past Exhibitions. 48, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/peeler_exhibit/48
Medium
Sonja Hinrichsen Big Circle (from 'Snow Drawings'), 2009 digital print on paper 21 x 26 inches 2009.11.1.5 DePauw University purchase