With Rapture and Astonishment
Eric William Carroll, Bramble, 11/20/22
With Rapture and Astonishment
A Listening to the Land Photography Project Exhibition
With Rapture & Astonishment is inspired by a quote from American artist, botanist, and ethnographer William Bartram, which he made upon reaching the summit of Wayah Bald in May of 1775. Here he “beheld with rapture and astonishment, a sublimely awful scene of power and magnificence, mountains piled upon mountains.” This quote from his 1791 publication Travels, is representative of the language used by Bartram to describe the southern backcountry he explored from 1773 to 1777, language that is described by historians as the first genuine and artistic interpretation of the American landscape by a Colonial American, and elevated it into the realm of the sublime.
This was the eve of the American Revolution, and the colonial American landscape was in the midst of great transformation during this time, with conflicts and tensions between settlers and native people on the increase. Bartram, however, was a Quaker, and his pacifism and respect for native peoples is palpable in his writings. Cherokee language scholar Tom Belt remarked that William Bartram would have been the first white man in Cherokee country that was not there to trade, convert, or swindle. Instead, he was there to observe and learn about plant life in the area and Cherokee customs and traditions. Travels could be described as a heeding as well, as it revealed Bartram’s humility before nature and his deep respect for indigenous peoples, which was in direct contrast with the conquest mentality of Colonial America at the time.
The photographs in this seek to interpret the landscape in the spirit of Bartram. The works invite us to respond with humility in a recognition of the sublime that we can access should we only stop, observe, and be present with what the natural world has to offer. Perhaps as we humans continue to dominate the planet with our demands upon it we need the experience of the sublime more than ever. Perhaps this will center us in our insignificance within the great scheme of biodiversity and evolution and humble us before all of creation.
-Brent Martin
Executive Director, Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy
Books & Installations
Erik Mace, With August Majesty and Power
Frances Bukovsky, Between Earth and Sky
Brent Martin & Susan Patrice, An Infinite Variety
Yvonne Dalchen, Bartram Blaze
Puc Puggy Loop
Southeast Conservation Corp, Trail Workers
The Bascom, Bunzl Gallery Views
About the Photographers:
The photographers featured in this exhibition reflected upon the same five-mile section of the Bartram National Recreation Trail for twelve weeks between Osage Overlook and Jones Gap near Highlands, NC. These eleven Kinship Photography Collective members embraced Bartram's exploratory spirit and cultivated curiosity, and humility while reimagining this ancient and well-traveled landscape. Many of the photographers featured here drew inspiration and guidance from the place-based traditions of diverse indigenous peoples, including The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who have stewarded this land for millennia and who freely shared their plant knowledge and wisdom with William Bartram.
With Rapture and Astonishment was on view in the Bunzl Gallery at The Bascom: A Center for Visual Arts, December 15th, 2022 - January 6th, 2023. See the full gallery guide with artist bios and image sizes here.
