Transitions by Jay Hart, used with permission of the artist.
‘Terrain artist’ Jay Hart, from just up the road in Trumansburg, N.Y., has an exhibition of his large-format prints at Cornell’s Mann Library in November and December. Jay’s art has its roots in his training in plant ecology, remote sensing, and geomorphology and decades of work using aerial photography and satellite imagery to answer scientific questions.
Apparently the beauty of this planet wasn’t lost on him either.
Across five continents my mapping experiences gave me a strong curiosity for terrain processes and for the aesthetics of landform. In recent years I have been exploring as art the countless examples of the earth’s broadscale beauty.
Visit Jay’s online gallery. Each image is fascinating in its own way. And every picture tells a story. For now, Transitions is my favorite, because it’s from my neck of the woods and I know the story.
I’ve only viewed Jay’s work online. But you can bet I’m going to see them in person because I suspect that their impact is even more dramatic in the flesh.
Update: If you like these, Pam at Tales from the Microbial Laboratory recommends the batiks of various aerial/satellite images (mostly coastlines) by Mary Edna Fraser. Visit Mary Edna’s Islands from the Sky website.
Gorgeous.
They are really spectacular up close (discovered that the Mann cafe makes the only decent espresso+frothy milk drinks on campus 😉 When they first put them on the walls, there was no information to be found about what they were or who by, just these stark, colorful, and HUGE geographical mysteries. It was cool in its own way.
The relief in the prints reminds me of the old textured wall maps we had in school, and they have a dusty-matte sort of texture that I really want to touch (but refrain), but this work is so much finer and richer. Thanks for the web link–much more there than is in the cafe.
These are pretty cool. I found where I live. One thing I was s truck by is how big the Hudson River (on a another print) and the Finger Lakes are.
Superb photos.
This is just to tell you that the link you sent in for the Garden Bloggers’ Retro Carnival was posted today. Thanks for participating!
Sue
Awesome. My dad has a small plane and we often fly to Salt Lake City to visit family. I take loads of photographs of the salt flats and the lake. The lake’s divided by geometric jetties and somehow the fractured pieces of the lake take on different colors (differences of salinity?) such as bright blues and reds and greens. The salt marshes are really cool too; they look like a thick coppery patina on the landscape. I’ve often wondered if anyone was taking advantage of these arial views for fine art. Thanks for the links.