PHILADELPHIA, June 24 — Michael Nichols’ wildlife and landscape photography will be the focus of its own exhibition this summer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in a show intended to demonstrate “the enduring importance of the wild.”
Nichols, an award-winning photographer for National Geographic, has spent months at a time documenting individual animals, including big cats, great apes, and elephants — venturing into the Congo Basin, the Serengeti and the American West.
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Nichols’ resulting work will be given centre stage in “Wild: Michael Nichols,” which will include projects highlighting his artistic achievements and his efforts to preserve wild spaces.
Juxtaposed with Nichols’ work will be pieces from the Museum’s collection, including paintings and sculptures, intended to underscore the theme of “the wild” — parts of the world that are untouched by humankind — as an inspiration for artists.
“Wild” is organised around two themes taken from two of the photographer’s book projects: 1999’s Brutal Kinship, exploring the relationship between humans and chimpanzees, and 2005’s The Last Place on Earth, documenting a scientist’s trek across the Congo Basin to record its biodiversity.
An image of a surfing hippo in Gabon from The Last Place on Earth that was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential Images of All Time will be among the photographs on view. Other show highlights include Nichols’ images of a coastal redwood and a giant sequoia, reproduced on 60-foot banners.
The first biography of the artist, A Wild Life: A Visual Biography of Photographer Michael Nichols, is being published to coincide with the museum show.
“Wild: Michael Nichols“ runs from June 27 to September 17. Nichols is due to give a lecture on June 25, while on September 16, a lecture will be given by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, who collaborated with Nichols on Brutal Kinship. — AFP-Relaxnews
