In an era where political potency is located in the most minute details of our lives, to risk disengagement with the newsworthy might read as immoral. Yet, it is equally unconscionable to postpone involvement with beauty, with nature, and with wonder in favor of the more acrimonious and timely. This is the binary addressed in an exhibition of contemporary photography and video on view in Fall 2019 in Payne Gallery at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As artist-cum-curator, I am working with 7 contemporary image-makers to take on the prudent task of asserting the contemporary significance of aesthetics, nature, slowness, and the sublime.
Here, the flirtation with and attention to matters decidedly apolitical at once asserts a profound presence and explores possibilities for that which has yet to be seen. This meditation is in sharp contrast to the infinite and novel scroll on our blue screens. My presentation will unpack the artistic and curatorial precedents for this kind of rule breaking and address specific works developed for the exhibition. Concurrent with the exhibition itself, and timed shortly after the opening, I will include installation photographs, statements from the artists, and analysis. By celebrating and honoring beauty and natural phenomena, the exhibition is, arguably, a form of resistance in and of itself.
About the presenterSusan Morelock
Susan Morelock is an artist whose practice explores photography and video. Her work has been widely exhibited in venues across the US as well as in Italy and South Korea. Her photographs have been published in outlets including the Humble Arts Foundation and The New Yorker. Among her residencies are ChaNorth; Hudson Valley MOCA; and Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. She is on the faculty at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.