nature-inspired art
Cameron Museum of Art Features Nature There are two exhibits of nature-inspired art currently on display at the Cameron Museum of Art. The two artists have very different styles, but both choose to immerse themselves in nature as a starting point. They bring their observations back to us in the hope that seeing their interpretations will help us see and appreciate our connection to the natural world of which we are a part. Short videos that are part of the exhibit allow us to hear from the artists in their own words.
Safe Places: Robert Johnson
February 7 – August 1, 2021 “I hope people seeing Safe Places will understand what an ecologically diverse state we live in. I hope they will feel inspired to go hike the trails in our parks with an observant eye. The more people get out to see the beauty of these areas the more they are likely to care for state parks and will want to preserve what is left of the natural environment.” —Robert Johnson
A House of One Room: Elizabeth Bradford March 12 – October 17, 2021
Elizabeth Bradford is a painter and a writer who has revered nature since childhood. Through her work she explores the undeveloped natural world, depicting the complex patterns found in nature. She hopes her work will inspire a deeper appreciation of the untamed natural world and instill a sense of responsibility for its preservation. Bradford records her hiking and camping experiences in photos and in the Monthly Archives on her website: “Backpacking is a little like business travel for me. I backpack to gather images for the next body of work. I also go to relax and recover from a world laden with trash of every kind—tons of single use plastic all generated in my lifetime, exhaust from cars, media born from mediocrity, trashy thinking built on greed and self-absorption. “Another reason is to experience, even if only for a couple of days, a life with very few possessions—all one’s necessities coming in at under 25 pounds, fitting neatly into a little bag on one’s back. We are turtles walking upright.” photo courtesy of the artist
—from elizabethbradford.com
Elizabeth Bradford. Duckweed As Constellations, 48" x 72", This exhibition is made possible 2018, acrylic and glitter on canvas. This piece is on display at thanks to the generous underwritthe Cameron Museum of Art through October 17, 2021. ing of the Wells Fargo Foundation.
Spring / Summer 2021
contributed photo
Robert Johnson, (Am. b. 1944), Carolina Beach State Park, 30" x 40", c. 2019, acrylic and oil on canvas. Collection of Cameron Art Museum. Claude Howell Endowment for the Purchase of North Carolina Art.
by Valerie Robertson There are 41 North Carolina State Parks, and three years ago self-taught artist Robert Johnson set out to reside and work on site in all of them, documenting and interpreting the landscapes, flora and fauna represented in each. His Safe Places exhibition is the premier of the more than 100 artworks he created. The exhibit includes large-scale paintings as well as journal pages, sketches and annotated field observations of the flora and fauna he studied in each location. The paintings are stylized and colorful, and yet the individual elements so realistically depicted the viewer can identify the species represented. The arrangements of the scenes are playful and varied; in some, multiple views appear in different quadrants rather than as an uninterrupted landscape. Where he saw an abundance of plants, sometimes he would paint a profusion of them, and other times he would express (continued on page 4) Cape Fear’s Going Green
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