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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
By Mark Franklin
A & E Reporter
If you have ever driven out west, there is a state that will actually make you thankful for the topographical variations in Illinois. The name of this earthy incarnation of the seventh circle of hell is Kansas. There are those in this state that say Illinois is flat and barren. But in reality, there are only three places in the world where the landscape could easily precipitate mental instability and general disillusions with the world – the Australian Outback, the Gobi Desert and Kansas.
Illinois, however, has a wide variation of landscapes and a new art installation at the Illinois State Museum highlights this. Although there are ten photographers that provided work for “The Grammar of Landscape,” one of them is a particular favorite of mine.
His name is Art Sinsabaugh.
Although he passed away a couple years before I was birthed, Sinsabaugh has taken quite a few iconic images of the Midwest, particularly images from central and southern Illinois. In fact, I was introduced to Sinsabaugh a couple years back. It was my first year at a four year university, (I am currently a grad student) and as a general education requirement, I took a geology class. One of the culminating projects was a class trip in and around Champaign to see some of the formations. But right before we left, one of the professors showed us “Midwest Landscapes No. 34,” which is not only a famous photograph in its own right, but taken right outside of the city. It shows not only the wide sweeping perspective of the area, but also a sort of Illinois aesthetic.
In fact, all of the artists in the exhibit have this sort of aesthetic. But it does not just look at the mid parts of Illinois. It also surveys wetlands, prairies, forest, plains, agriculture, Lake Michigan, and, of course Chicago, the second best city in this fair land (Just for your information New York City is clearly number one, but Los Angeles is not nearly in the same league as Chicago or New York. It could, however, probably pass for the fourth place of mental instability and disillusionment (please refer to the opening paragraph). The exhibit also uses essays as well as language to 'talk' about the land.
The Grammar of Landscape: Photographic Visions of Illinois runs until July 27, 2008, so you have time to see it, but why wait? Give it a try, you might like it.
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