Wilderness at 50

Wilderness at 50: Photographic Reflections on the Legacy of Tionesta Visionary Howard Zahniser A U G U ST 3 0 - S E P T E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 14

Wilderness at 50: Photographic Reflections on the Legacy of Tionesta Visionary Howard Zahniser

A CRARY ART GALLERY EXHIBITION IN CONJUNCTION WITH FRIENDS OF ALLEGHENY WILDERNESS AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

crarygallery.org

pawild.org

made possible by the generous support of

The Community Foundation of Warren County The Defrees Family Memorial Fund Northwest Charitable Foundation, Inc. 2

5 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Remarks About Howard Zanhiser Craig Blacklock Clyde Butcher Robert John Clements Kevin Ebi Robbie George Stephen Gorman Robert Glenn Ketchum Scot Miller David Muench Marc Muench Mark Muse Photography Contest

David Muench Delicate Arch with Moon Arches National Park, UT

3

Clyde Butcher Seven Cabbage Cut, Chasahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, FL

4

REMARKS

U

ntil recent years, it was not widely known in our

In many ways, this 50th anniversary of the Wilderness

region that Howard Zahniser, the man whose

Act exhibition is a very special one for the Crary Art

vision has led to nearly 110 million acres of

Gallery. It not only ties this historically significant man

wilderness designated on federal public lands, was a

to the area where he spend his boyhood; it reveals the

local. Zahniser was not only raised just downriver in

gravity of his legacy, as seen through the eyes of greatly

Tionesta, but is in fact laid to rest there, along the banks

talented – even legendary – nature photographers.

of his beloved Allegheny River in Riverside Cemetery.

Many of these photographers are internationally

Recognition of his connection to our area is becoming

renowned. Upon seeing their works, a viewer

more widespread though, thanks to the purposeful work

immediately comprehends why that is so. One is

of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness.

transported to a sort of rapturous contemplation and

Zahniser’s Wilderness Act is considered to be the most

awe of the wider and wilder world. The photographs

artfully worded legislation in U.S. statute. Wilderness,

here take us on unforgettable journeys into protected

according to the Act, is an area “…where the earth and

sanctuaries which are sometimes remote and vast,

its community of life are untrammeled by man, where

other times near and intimate. Through their images,

man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The

these photographers’ experiences are brought to us

law provides mechanisms for setting aside significant

whole, conveying directly to us these lands where the

tracts of federal land in perpetuity, where low-impact

term “forever” has a tangible, visceral meaning.

recreational activities are encouraged, but no resource

We wish to express our deep gratitude to this

extraction or permanent developments are allowed.

talented group not only for sharing their vision,

Nearly every session of Congress since 1964 has added

but – and this was true for each of them – for so

to America’s National Wilderness Preservation System.

enthusiastically joining this exhibition and its theme.

There are now 758 wilderness areas in 44 states and

They have given us truly superb works to contemplate

Puerto Rico – with more to come. Wilderness areas

and a truly remarkable experience for visitors to

are important because they are the only portions of our

the Crary Art Gallery.

country where nature is by law the primary influence; places where we exercise humility, recognizing that natural processes will always better steward our wildlands with the absence of human intervention.

5

HOWARD ZAHNISER early life Howard Zahniser was born the son of a Free Methodist minister in northwestern Pennsylvania in 1906. He developed a deep love for nature in Forest County, budding in the fifth grade as a member of the Junior Audubon Society. An outdoorsman at heart and a keen observer of nature’s complexities, later in life chronic health conditions and his important work on the wilderness legislation often limited him to admire the wild country from afar, and to ponder its inherent goodness from a philosophical standpoint.

career Howard Zahniser, a

Equal to Zahniser’s respect for nature was his affinity for the written word. Trained as a

Tionesta native, became

journalist, Zahniser worked as a book reviewer for Nature Magazine and as an editor

the legendary leader

for the U.S. Biological Survey. In 1945, he joined The Wilderness Society, first serving as executive secretary and editor of the organization’s magazine The Living Wilderness,

of The Wilderness

and later as the organization’s executive director.

Society who authored

Zahniser came to realize the urgent need for a federal wilderness law during the early

the original Wilderness

1940s. He knew that unless federal legislation was enacted to permanently safeguard

Act of 1964.

Zahniser led The Wilderness Society

millions of acres of wild lands under the jurisdictions of federal land management agencies, conservationists would be destined to fight for protection on a reactionary, piecemeal basis.

legacy

through two decades

Although his health was failing, Zahniser wrote 66 drafts of the Wilderness Act between

of challenges

1956 and 1964 and steered it through 18 hearings. Its passage in 1964 stands in

and landmark accomplishments.

6

testament to the dedication and perseverance of this man who deeply felt the worth of wilderness. The Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, which now encompasses more than 109 million acres.

Robert Glenn Ketchum Twin Lakes, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, AK

7

craig blacklock Craig is the son of pioneering color nature photographer, Les Blacklock. Craig had the opportunity to accompany his father on photography trips from the time he was three. By age five, Craig was making his own images alongside his dad.

After two years as an art major at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, Craig joined his parents in Blacklock Nature Photography. Craig’s early career found him traveling over much of the nation, but in the early 1980s he decided to dedicate most of the rest of his career to photographing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Lake Superior. He circumnavigated Lake Superior in his kayak as part of the making of his awardwinning, best-selling book, The Lake Superior Images.

He later photographed his wife, Honey Blacklock for their award-winning collaborative book, A Voice Within —

The Lake Superior Nudes.

Through his extensive photography of Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Craig Blacklock has gained an international reputation for his inspiring landscapes, nudes and technical virtuosity. Photographer/author of seventeen books, Craig is regularly featured in magazines such as American

Photo, Fine Art Photo, Shutterbug and Outdoor Photographer. His original prints are in museums, private collections, and health care facilities throughout the U.S. Craig’s background in over 30 years of working in large format shows in his digital images, with precise, exquisite compositions and hyper-real clarity.

8

Craig has now switched to digital still and video cameras.

This lead to his work with the Center for Spirituality and Healing, producing nature videos for stress relief and healing under the titleWellscapes. He has taught photography workshops since 1982, providing guidance in capture, editing and printing. He personally makes all of his own prints in his gallery in Moose Lake, Minnesota. For current lists of workshops, gallery exhibitions and prices, visit blacklockgallery.com.

Apostle Islands Plate 22 Gaylord Nelson Wilderness, WI

9

clyde butcher Clyde Butcher’s black and white photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment. For more than fifty years, he has been preserving on film the untouched areas of the landscape. He has been honored by the state of Florida with the highest award that can be given a private citizen: the Artist Hall of Fame Award. He was also privileged to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association and given the honor of being the Humanitarian of the Year for 2005 from Florida International University. He has also received the 2007 Distinguished Artist Award from the Florida House in Washington DC and the Sierra Club has given him the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, which is given to a photographer who shows excellence in photography and has contributed to the public awareness of the environment.

Collections of his work can be seen in his books: Portfolio I - Florida Landscapes; 7995 Limited Edition Collection; Visions for the Next Millennium; Nature’s Places of Spiritual Sanctuary; Florida Landscape; Living Waters - Florida’s Aquatic Preserves; Cuba - The Natural Beauty; Apalachicola River - An American Treasure; America the Beautiful: The Monumental Landscape; Big Cypress Swamp - The Western Everglades; Portfolio II - Florida Landscapes and in his biography, Seeing the Light: Wilderness and Salvation, a Photographer’s Tale.

Public Broadcasting has completed an award-winning documentary on Clyde, Visions of Florida. A second video, Big Cypress Preserve: Jewel of the Everglades, featuring Clyde, is also an award-winning program. Clyde was the host in the award-winning nature documentaries: Living Waters - Aquatic Preserves of Florida, Big Cypress Swamp - The Western Everglades; Kissimmee Basin - The Northern Everglades, and the featured guest in the award-winning nature documentary, Apalachicola River -An American Treasure.

For more information on Clyde check out his website at clydebutcher.com

10

Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge #1, FL

Little Butternut Key, Florida Bay

“People protect what they love.

But, you can’t protect what you don’t understand. Clyde Butcher makes us want to understand, because he touches our hearts and our heads follow. No one can view Butcher’s remarkable work without being awestruck by the Everglades and its embodiment of nature herself.”

Michel Cousteau Explorer, environmentalist, and award-winning filmmaker

Billies Bay, Ocala National Forest, FL

11

robert john clements Robert John Clements was born and raised in Western South Dakota, near the Badlands. He attended the University of South Dakota and University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He has been a working artist and photographer for most of his adult life. He was the owner and director of the Robert Clements Gallery in Portland, Maine for several years before returning to his prairie roots. He currently runs the Robert Clements Gallery in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. More of his work can be found on the web at robertjohnclements.com, or the Robert Clements Gallery page on Facebook.

Above Sage Creek Wilderness Badlands National Park, SD Even through the distractions of my high school years in Wall, South Dakota, I knew the Badlands (Mako Sica - Lakota for Land Bad) was a special place.

My friends and I used to drive there to see the sunset, or the moonrise, and to watch herds of buffalo or deer. We also saw occasional Big Horn sheep.

12

“Anyone can love the mountains; it takes soul to love the prairie.” The quote has been attributed to several people, including Teddy Roosevelt, Willa Cather, and an anonymous Nebraska sodbuster. Whoever first said or wrote it, I thank you. It resonate with me.

Growing up on a farm/ranch consisting of large swathes of unplowed prairie grasses influenced the way I see, the way I feel, and my approach to my work. Out here, the sun, the sky, and the earth combine to create lights and shadows unavailable elsewhere on the planet. To learn to capture that subtle beauty is a privilege. I approach my work with a painter’s eye.”

The Source of the Legend of Tatanka and the Cedar Tree Sage Creek Wilderness Area, SD As I approached Sage Creek early one spring morning, a thick fog prevailed. I knew the bison were nearby; I could see fresh tracks and hear the tearing of grass as they ate. Then the giants materialized out of the fog. I followed this old bull until the flicking of his tail indicated his irritation with my presence.

13

kevin ebi Kevin Ebi fell in love with nature early in life; it took many more years for him to discover his passion for photography. Growing up, Kevin went on many outings with his parents to Pacific Northwest national parks, particularly Mount Rainier and Olympic in Washington state. As an adult, he began carrying a camera on hikes so he could show others what he saw, but over time discovered that the patience and keen observation photography required helped him appreciate nature even more.

A self-taught photographer, his images are used regularly by major calendar and greeting card lines, and have appeared in a wide range of publications including National Wildlife, Smithsonian, Lonely Planet Guides, and Outdoor

Photographer. He has authored or co-authored four photography books, including Year of the Eagle, which shows how eagles learn to fly and start families of their own, and Living Wilderness, a comprehensive compilation of his art images. He lives near Seattle, Washington, and has photographed more than half of the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, Iceland, and New Zealand.

“I strive to create images that show nature is alive and constantly changing. I’m especially drawn to scenes that, because of fleeting light or dramatic weather, are changing as I photograph them. I also use careful composition and vivid lighting to make more static scenes come alive. While most of my images are captured digitally, my aim is to spend far more time in the wilderness than I do in front of a computer. I use software to make minor adjustments so that my images show what it felt like to be there. If I am unable to capture what I visualized for a location, I keep returning until I do.�

14

Winter Sunset on Whitehorse Mountain, Boulder River Wilderness, WA Whitehorse Mountain doesn’t rank among the highest mountains in North Cascades, but it is one of the steepest and most dramatic.

Sunburst on Mount Shuksan, Stephen Mather Wilderness, WA Mount Shuksan is said be one of the most photographed mountains in the world.

Hikers venturing just a few miles into the Stephen Mather Wilderness, however, will usually have the majestic peak “all to themselves.�

15

robbie george

A Mountain Goat Nuzzles Her Kid Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, WY

Robbie George is a professional photographer represented by National Geographic Creative.

Specializing in wildlife and landscape photography, he welcomes challenging assignments of all types.

Robbie grew up in Aspen, Colorado and is now based in Portland, Maine. He has been published in many national magazines, websites, books, and calendars. His versatile style gives him the ability to capture a wide variety of subject matter for his clients.

16

“Photography allows me to share my appreciation of the wonder of our natural spaces.

Working for National Geographic inspires me to impact lives by sharing the vast beauty that surrounds us. My vision is to capture the harmony of nature through photographs, and provide the viewer with a sense of awe and respect. I am committed to leaving a lasting impression and instill a deeper awareness of the natural world.�

Two Grizzly Cubs Explore On A Sunny Day Teton Wilderness, WY

A Sandhill Crane Dances Amongst Snow Geese In Pre-Dawn Mist Bosque del Apache Wilderness, AZ

17

stephen gorman

Stephen Gorman focuses on understanding the connections between nature and humanity through his work: how we depend on the ecosystems around us to sustain our material and spiritual lives, how we modify the landscapes in which we live and work, and how our ideas of nature shape our relationships with the world around us.

Stephen holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University, where he focused on the human dimensions of natural resource management; and a Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University, where he focused on American environmental history and the history of the North American frontier.

18

Green Mountain Springtime Breadloaf Wilderness, Green Mountain National Forest, VT

Autumn’s Palette Pemigewasset Wildernes, White Mountain National Forest, NH

He is the author and photographer of many books, including The

Sierra, Audubon, Outside, Backpacker, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, The Washington Times Magazine, Ski, Skiing, Powder, Wildlife Conservation, The Amicus Journal, Yankee, The Boston Phoenix, Down East, Canoe & Kayak, and The Boston Herald Magazine. He has served as a member of the editorial boards of

American Wilderness: Journeys into Distant and Historic Landscapes; Thoreau’s New England; Wild New England; Northeastern Wilds: Journeys of Discovery in the Northern Forest, which was a finalist for the IPPY Award in 2003; and Arctic Visions: Encounters at the Top of the World, which was commissioned by the Inuit of Nunavik and which won the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Award.

Stephen has also written and photographed a dozen other books on traditional wilderness survival skills. His published credits include

Appalachia and AMC Outdoors and he has been a Contributing Editor and a Field Editor for both Sports Afield Magazine and Summit

Magazine, which also featured his monthly column Mountaincraft.

Steve lives in Vermont with his wife Mary and their dog Josie.

Discovery Channel Online, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal, 19

robert glenn ketchum Over the last 40 years, Robert Glenn Ketchum’s imagery, writing, exhibitions, numerous books and personal activism have helped to define photography’s successful use in conservation advocacy. At the same time, Ketchum’s decades of color work – including textile translations of his photography – has made for an astonishing, beautiful body of images which are highly regarded the world over. Ketchum was named by Audubon magazine as one of the hundred people “who shaped the environmental movement of the 20th century.” American Photo magazine listed him as one of the one hundred most important people in contemporary photography in the 1990s, and in 2010, he was only the fifth photographer they selected for their esteemed American Masters series. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and Annie Leibovitz were the four previously recognized. His recent work prompted

Digital Photo Pro magazine to name Ketchum one of the “new digital masters.”

Ketchum’s undergraduate work was done at UCLA where he studied with Robert Heinecken, Edmund Teske and Robert Fichter. Ketchum earned one of the first MFA degrees from California Institute of the Arts, and later received an honorary master’s degree from Brooks Institute of Photography.

Ketchum was a founding board member of the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies.

For fifteen years he served as the Curator of Photography for the National Park Foundation.

It was in that capacity that he organized an exhibition for which he authored “American

Photographers and the National Parks,” a seminal history of conservation photography in North America.

Ketchum’s photographs can be found in numerous collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the High Museum, and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. Large study collections have been established at the Huntington Library, Museums and Garden, and the Amon Carter Museum.

20

Mt. Fairweather and the alsek glacier, 1 a.m.

Glacier Bay National Park And Preserve, AK

Tracy Arm, Tracy Arm –Fords Terror Wilderness Tongass National Forest, AK

In the mid-1980s Ketchum traveled down the Tatshenshini River. His photographs and story were published in LIFE magazine as well as a book about the river, resulting in pressure to halt a destructive gold-mining proposal upstream in Canada.

Eventually the project was forbidden as World Biosphere status was granted to the river’s corridor. In so doing, three vast wilderness areas, Wrangell-St.Elias – Tatshenshini – Glacier Bay, were linked, creating the largest contiguous wilderness designation expanse on the planet.

A unique old-growth, temperate rainforest covering over 1,000 islands and a coastal fiordland, the Tongass was being clearcut in the 1980s, disrupting substantial habitat. After Ketchum sent his book to all members of Congress, The Tongass: Alaska’s Vanishing Rain Forest, President George Bush signed the Tongass Timber Reform Bill into law. Because of these efforts, Ketchum was invited to the White House and was also given the United Nations Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award by the King of Sweden.

21

scot miller Through his photography, Scot Miller attempts to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the uniqueness of places such as Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada, Walden Pond, the Maine woods, the Texas Hill Country, and the Great Trinity Forest in Texas. Eighty-nine of his photographs illustrate Henry Thoreau’s Walden: 150th

Anniversary Illustrated Edition of the American Classic, published by Houghton Mifflin in 2004 and sixty-three of his photographs illustrate Thoreau’s Cape Cod:

Illustrated Edition of the American Classic,

book award program.

In 2005, Harvard Museum of Natural History helped launch the multi-year traveling exhibition “Thoreau’s Walden: A Journey in

Photographs by Scot Miller.” Miller has also been involved in book projects photographing Yosemite’s backcountry wilderness and Thoreau’s Maine Woods, which resulted in the show, “Thoreau’s Maine Woods: A Journey

in Photographs with Scot Miller” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History which ends just as “Wilderness at 50” opens.

published in 2008. In 2011, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published John Muir’s My First

Summer in the Sierra: 100th Anniversary Illustrated Edition of the American Classic featuring seventy-two of Miller’s photographs.

This book received the 2011 Classic Award from the National Outdoor Book Awards, the outdoor world’s largest and most prestigious

Backcountry View of Half Dome and Cloud’s Rest Yosemite Wilderness, CA

22

Golden light, Upper Young Lake Yosemite Wilderness, CA

Cathedral Peak, After the Storm Yosemite Wilderness, CA

23

david muench

One of the world’s premier landscape photographers, David Muench began his career photographing the American West in the 1950s. He has published over 60 exhibit-format books and his work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums. He continues to photograph and instruct workshops world-wide.

Snowmass Toprock Snowmass Wilderness, CO

24

“Every photograph is a journey, an exploration in seeing. I continue to photograph the inspiring beauty and extraordinary power of the world around me. I remain impressed by the wildness of nature.

Most of the past 50 years has been spent exploring and interpreting the American West, with occasional forays into the wild, ancient beauty of America’s East and, in recent years, with numerous journeys into Patagonia, Perú, Antarctica, Africa, New Zealand, Iceland.

Yet, the American landscape remains prime for me, the landscape most thoroughly mine.”

Ice in Bay Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, AK

25

marc muench “Capturing powerful experiences in wild places has been my goal. I find inspiration in looking as far as my eyes can see with no interruption. Places that have remained unbroken by anything hold my attention. I want to show these areas in a way that offer a touch of their wild nature, as well as the freedom they offer. To help convey the scale of the wilderness and its freedoms, I position myself in a unique location at a unique time, where and when all the elements of a great image fall into place as I am surrounded with scenarios of light, subject, location, weather and timing. I find it difficult to waste the opportunity in life and not pursue such occurences.”

Marc Muench is an internationally renowned landscape photographer with eleven book titles to his name, ESPN outdoor shows and numerous magazine, calendar and poster titles to his credit. His most recent book is titled

Exploring North American Landscapes by Rocky Nook Publishing.

Marc is a third generation landscape photographer following in the family tradition started by his grandfather Josef Muench and then his father David Muench. His most recent exhibition was titled “Explorations” at the Wildling Art Museum in Los Olivos CA.

26

Sabrina Lake Basin, John Muir Wilderness, CA Alpine ponds are common in the high Sierra. I like to refer to them as Zen ponds! Each one offers a new composition and feel. This is five vertical images stitched together to capture a 170º view.

Tokopah Valley, Sequoia National Park, CA This is a tree with character, life, tenacity and –most of all– the freedom to live in and with the rock.

Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, AZ Weathered sandstone appears as fractals, some as thin as paper plates hang from the edges of the Vermilion Cliffs. Condors soar overhead, and the Grand Canyon barely visible in the distance. Here, my eyes could see forever.

Milky Way over the Cirque of The Towers, Pop Agie Wilderness, WY 3:22 a.m. near the peak of Perseids meteor shower, below a waterfall cascading down from the glaciated towers above, is where I watched the Milky Way spin through the sky. My headlamp lit the falls for a brief moment, only for the camera!

27

mark muse Mark Muse earned a BFA in Photography from Ohio University in the early 1970s, then worked in the publishing and printing industry where, by the late 1970s, he was a very early adopter of digital images and processes.

His photographs have been exhibited in numerous one and two-person shows in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania and has work in the permanent collection of the West Virginia State Museum. Muse’s photographs have been published in national and international publications. Besides being a photographer in his own right, Muse is also relied upon for his technical expertise in printing for major shows by other photographers. His work is moving toward alternative printing processes including platinum/palladium, gravure, and carbon printmaking.

North Fork Mountain Monongahela National Forest, WV

28

Sedges, Beautiful Sedges Williams River, Monongahela National Forest , WV

Red Spruce at Fisher Spring Run Bog Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV

Red Spruce, Picea Rubens Roaring Plains Wilderness, WV

29

ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST WILDERNESS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST H I C KO R Y

C R E E K

W I L D E R N E S S

A photography contest was held to specially celebrate the two designated wilderness areas in the Allegheny National Forest. Shown here are the winning images.

A N D

T H E

A L L E G H E N Y

I S L A N D S

W I L D E R N E S S

These two wilderness areas were designated by Congress in 1984 and added to the Wilderness Preservation System for preservation and protection of their natural condition.

The Hickory Creek Wilderness has at its heart two creeks, East Hickory Creek and Middle Hickory Creek. The terrain is gentle to moderate terrain, and covered by heavy forest of northern hardwoods such as black cherry, oak, beech, birch, and hemlock.

The Allegheny Islands Wilderness contains seven islands stretched between Buckaloons and Tionesta along the Allegheny Wild and Scenic River. The islands are popular for camping, exploration, and viewing scenery and wildlife. The islands are mostly forested, with riverine trees including sycamore, silver maple, shagbark hickory, and green ash.

Mark Hulings Beginning of Time Hickory Creek

30

Piper VanOrd Sunrise Reflection, Thompson Island

Piper VanOrd

Judy Cole Blank

First Frost, Courson Island

Autumn Aura, Hickory Creek

31

Craig Blacklock Brule Lake Rainbow, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN

“The true wilderness experience is one, not of escaping, but of finding one’s self by seeking the wilderness.”

511 Market Street Warren, Pennsylvania 814.723.4523

32

Howard Zahniser,

info@crarygallery.org

The Living Wilderness, winter-spring, 1956-1957

www.crarygallery.org