FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2003
The Museum of Texas Tech University is proud to present the exhibition Visions for the Next Millennium: Wilderness Photography - Focus On Preservation, opening May 4.
The exhibition will remain on view through June 29 at the Museum, located on the southeast corner of Fourth Street and Indiana Avenue.
The American wilderness has inspired Clyde Butcher's work since his son's death. Butcher's photographs offer visitors a rare opportunity to share his vision and experiences.
Butcher's large format black
and white photographs explore his personal relationship with the
environment. The photographs chronicle some of America's most
beautiful and complex ecosystems. The exquisite beauty and depth
of his work draw the viewer into a relationship with nature. For
more than 35 years, he has been preserving on film the untouched
areas of the landscape. His images are captured with an 8x10",
11x14", or 12x20" view camera. The large format camera
allows him to express the elaborate detail and textures that distinguish
the intricacy of the landscape. The 37 large format photographs
in this exhibition range in size from 36x46" to seven feet
by eight feet.
"Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity," explains
Butcher. "When my son was killed by a drunk driver it was
to the wilderness that I fled in hopes of regaining my serenity
and equilibrium. The mysterious spiritual experience of being
close to nature helped restore my soul. It was during that time
I discovered the intimate beauty of nature. My experience reinforced
my sense of dedication to use my art form of photography as an
inspiration for others to work together to save nature's places
of spiritual sanctuary for future generations."
Butcher has recently been honored with Florida's Artist Hall of Fame Award for his photographic excellence. He was chosen as Person of the Week on ABC's Peter Jennings evening news program, and has received the Heartland Community Service Award for his work in educating the people of Florida about the beauty of their state. He also has been honored with the Conservation Colleague Award, given to him by the Nature Conservancy. The Sierra Club has honored Butcher with its prestigious Ansel Adams Award to recognize his use of still photography to further the cause of conservation and his contribution to the public awareness of the environment.
This showing is part of a 12 city national tour over a two and a half year period, developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services of Kansas City, Missouri.
This exhibition showing is part of a 12 city national tour over a two and a half year period, developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services of Kansas City, Missouri.
On Sunday, May 11, at 2 PM, Clyde Butcher will give an Exhibition Series presentation titled "Visions for the Next Millennium" in the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium. The talk will be followed by a booksigning in the adjacent Sculpture Court. The Exhibition Series program is presented in conjunction with the Visions exhibition, free of charge.
For more information or to request
special assistance, call (806)742-2432, or email museum.education@ttu.edu.