This photo is by Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe of Yosemite National Park.

Man gone west

By: Laura Katzer

Posted: 11/5/07

Photographs mediate reality and the passage of time for the viewer. A series of photographs that are thematically linked become a narrative.

The latest photographic installation at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art narrates the aftermath and effects of American westward expansion.

Time in the West: Photographs by Mark Klett & Bryon Wolfe and Mark Ruwedel opened in the new galleries at the Bloch Building Saturday, Oct. 27.

The patchwork panoramas created by Klett and Wolfe show multiple views of a subject in one work.

They revisited sites where early survey and landscape photographers Ansel Adams, Edweard Muybridge, Carleton Watkins and Edward Weston had done work. Klett and Wolfe then used co-ordinates to replicate the exact viewpoints of the earlier photographers.

They also used actual photographs by Adams, Muybridge and Weston in the panoramic collages. The panoramas are multiple old and new photographs pieced together and overlapped.

This overlapping provides one continuous view of the landscape but also allows the same landscape to be shown in different times, seasons and aesthetic principles. The effect is a sense of changing time and ecology grounded by the bones of the iconic landscape.

The panoramas all contain the human form or some man-made object. The cars, camping materials and touristy humans in the landscape confront the natural beauty.

The presence of humans is especially jarring next to the pristine majesty in the photographs by Adams, Muybridge and Weston.

Klett also created a series of the Grand Canyon shot at different angles and all times of day. The colors are riveting and absolutely beautiful. The same slipping sense of time is apparent.

Humans are also present but more subtly than in the panoramas.

The photographs by Klett and Wolfe and by Klett alone provoke a dialogue with the viewer about what the American West is, what it represents and how humans affect it.

Ruwedel records the West in meditative photographs. His gentle compositions and balanced forms invite the viewer to examine them thoughtfully.

The landscapes he surveys feature abandoned railways and forgotten or little-used paths. The photographs can be lonely and the old railroads are sad and empty as a ghost town. Ruwedel portrays nature's beauty as sustained despite the searing effects of humans.

The show can be viewed until March 2, 2008.

The Nelson is offering three events linked to the show: Process and Idea: Photography in the Era of Exploration 2-4:30 p.m. Nov. 10; a gallery walk with Mark Klett 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nov. 11; and a lecture by Mark Ruwedel 2-3 p.m. Feb. 16. All events are free and public but require reservations.

lkatzer@unews.com