Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape

Heinz Galleries May 11, 2024–Jan. 12, 2025

Photography has dramatically altered our access to, understanding of, and impact on the natural world. Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape examines environmental history and degradation, particularly in the American landscape, as well as urgent concerns about climate change, through the camera lens. Featuring nearly 100 works by 19 different artists with multiple museum premieres and new commissions, this exhibition invites you to reconsider your relationship to the environment and understand how photography helps envision alternative paths forward.

Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape is organized by Dan Leers, curator of photography, with Keenan Saiz, Hillman Photography Initiative project curatorial assistant.

Artists in the Exhibition

A.K. Burns
Chanell Stone
Cyprien Gaillard
David O. Alekhuogie
David Hartt
Dionne Lee
Edra Soto
Erin Jane Nelson
Fazal Sheikh
Justine Kurland
Lucy Raven
Mark Armijo McKnight
Melissa Catanese
Raven Chacon
Sam Contis
Sky Hopinka
Tomás Saraceno
Victoria Sambunaris
Xaviera Simmons

Podcast Series

Available Now!

Expanding beyond our gallery walls, Widening the Lens is also a six-episode podcast series. Hosted by tennis champion, entrepreneur, and arts advocate Venus Williams, each of the six episodes spotlights different facets of the relationship between photography and the environment.

The podcast features artists, writers, poets, philosophers, and environmentalists in dialogue alongside archival audio, historical anecdotes, sonic experiences, and curatorial interviews.

Contributors Include

A.K. Burns
Candice Hopkins
David O. Alekhuogie
Dionne Lee
Edra Soto
J. Drew Lanham
Julian Brave NoiseCat
Kathryn Yusoff
Marcia Bjornerud
Mark Armijo McKnight
Natalie Diaz
Rachael Z. DeLue
Raven Chacon
Sam Contis
Saretta Morgan
Sky Hopinka
Tyler Green
Victoria Sambunaris
William L. Fox
Xaviera Simmons

Listen Now →

photos side by side of abstract art — Watch this trailer to learn more about our podcast, Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape, with host Venus Williams.

Exhibition Images

Selected Works

Publication

Edited by Dan Leers, Curator of Photography
Foreword by Eric Crosby, Henry J. Heinz II Director

How has humanity’s relationship with the land been documented by, and altered through, photography? These are the driving questions of Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape, a book inspired by a generation of contemporary artists who have endeavored to chart the past, present, and potential futures of photography and the landscape.

With an essay by renowned curator, writer, and activist Lucy R. Lippard; a new commission from poet Saretta Morgan; and an epilogue by award-winning environmental and science journalist Michelle Nijhuis.

Purchase →

Events and Programs

In Conversation: Lucy Raven and Candice Hopkins

Thurs., Nov. 14, 2024, 6 p.m.

Talks and Lectures

powdermill nature reserve observation platform

How Do Ecologists Read a Landscape?

Sat., Oct. 5, 2024, 2 p.m.

Tours

Queerness and Nature

Sun., Sept. 8, 2024, 10:45 a.m.

Tours

Widening the Lens: Sky Visioning

Sat., Aug. 3, 2024, 1 p.m.

Workshops

collage of various fields of California Poppies

Widening the Lens: Groundwork

Sat., July 13, 2024, 1 p.m.

Workshops

Widening the Lens: Water Flow

Sat., June 29, 2024, 1 p.m.

Workshops

Opening Program

May 11, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Free with museum admission

Join artists, naturalists, musicians, and poets for a day of locating ourselves and our histories within landscapes near and far through the lenses of 19 contemporary artists who comprise Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape.

The day begins at 10 a.m. with light breakfast in the Hall of Sculpture followed by curatorial remarks at 10:30 a.m., readings with poets Natalie Diaz and Saretta Morgan at 11 a.m., a sound performance with artist Raven Chacon at noon, and a landscape at 1 p.m. walk with naturalist Ben Krawec and author Patty Krawec.

Guided Poetry Walk with Natalie Diaz and Saretta Morgan

Sat., May 11, 2024, 11 a.m.

Performance

Sonic Performance by Raven Chacon

Sat., May 11, 2024, 12 p.m.

Performance

Guided Nature Walk with Patty Krawec and Ben Krawec

Sat., May 11, 2024, 1 p.m.

Tours

Support

Major support for the exhibition is provided by the William Talbott Hillman Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. Significant support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Henry Luce Foundation. Generous support is provided by Teiger Foundation. Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Carnegie Museum of Art’s exhibition program is supported by the Carnegie Museum of Art Exhibition Fund and The Fellows of Carnegie Museum of Art.

Carnegie Museum of Art is supported by The Heinz Endowments and Allegheny Regional Asset District. Carnegie Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.