Haggin Museum premiers new exhibit on environmental movement’s history
Visitors to Stockton’s Haggin Museum will be the first in the country to see a new collection that traces the history and impact of the environmental movement through art.
“The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability,” featuring works from Bank of America’s collection, opened for its inaugural exhibition on Thursday at The Haggin, which reopened recently after a year of being mostly shuttered due to the pandemic.
Beginning in the mid-19th century, “The Long View” examines the evolution of humanity’s relationship with — and need to protect — the Earth and its inhabitants, and the artists that have played a role in shaping the environmental conversation, The Haggin said in a news release.
The show runs through July 18 and is made up of 77 photographs, paintings, fine prints, and sculpture categorized into four thematic sections:
• “The Beginnings of Conservation” features artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose works influenced the environmental movement, such as John James Audubon, whose prints of birds and other wildlife inspired the founding of the Audubon Society, and photographer Carleton Watkins, whose vistas of Yosemite gave rise to the founding of the National Park Service.
• “Push and Pull — Industry and Environment” features works from the first half of the 20th century, including iconic images by photojournalists Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, when unsustainable farming practices worsened the effect of an extreme drought.
• “The Emergence of Conservation Activism” focuses on postwar works and the ecology movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. When the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, millions of Americans celebrated this movement dedicated to protecting our world, brought to life in Robert Rauschenberg’s Earth Day poster from the same year. Land artist Michael Heizer’s dialogue with the Earth, reversing geological history by leaving a human imprint, is seen in his Scrap Metal series, 1978.
• “Working Towards a Sustainable Vision” features contemporary artists including Tony Matelli, Aurora Robson, John Sabraw, Lauren Rosenthal McManus, Wout Berger and Albert Casanye focus on ways humanity has radically transformed the planet, and how to protect it.
“The Long View” springs from Bank of America’s Art in Our Communities program, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 by launching the project, according to The Haggin.
“We believe the arts matter, and can be used to help stimulate local economic, cultural activity and share valuable messages,” Bank of America Greater Sacramento President C.P. Parmar said in a statement. “So, it made perfect sense to share this important collection with The Haggin Museum, an important regional institution we’ve worked with on past exhibits.”
Added The Haggin’s incoming CEO, Susan Obert: “Just like Bank of America, we believe the arts help communities thrive, educate and inspire. We are excited to be the first venue for this thoughtprovoking exhibit.”
The Haggin Museum is open to the public at 25% of capacity in compliance with state COVID-19 guidelines.