Unprecedented Bipartisan Coalition Discusses Effort to Protect Alaska’s Biggest Wild Salmon Fishery, Jobs and Native Culture

"The Allen River Enters Lake Chauekuktuli" Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum. For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form.

Unprecedented Bipartisan Coalition Discusses Effort to Protect Alaska’s Biggest Wild Salmon Fishery, Jobs and Native Culture

Unique group in Washington, D.C. all week to call on White House and federal Environmental Protection Agency

With the future of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in danger from a proposed copper and gold mine, the broad, bipartisan Save Bristol Bay coalition – ranging from Alaska Natives to commercial fishermen, chefs, jewelers, sportsmen and more – have brought their fight to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska and its sustainable salmon to Washington, D.C.

The week-long Save Bristol Bay week in Washington, D.C. includes:

• Delivery of a letter to the EPA from 200 chefs and restaurant owners around the country
• Visits to congressional members
• Bristol Bay wild salmon served at more than 20 D.C.-area restaurants
• A Congressional Reception with honorary hosts Sen. Mark Begich (R-AK), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D- WA) and New York Times best-selling author Paul Greenberg.
• National telepress conference to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to protect Bristol Bay: Paul Greenberg, Journalist and Author of “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food”; Peter Andrew, Alaska Native leader, commercial and subsistence fisherman; Bob Waldrop, commercial fishing group representative; Rick Halford, former Alaska State Senate President, sportsman and guide

For the full schedule of events and information, please visit SaveBristolBay.org

A delegation from the Bristol Bay coalition fighting offshore oil and gas development met with the Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, on Tuesday in Washington, DC. The purpose of their visit was to thank the Secretary for removing the North Aleutian Basin from federal leasing plans until at least 2017 and to encourage the Administration to permanently protect Bristol Bay for future generations. Secretary Salazar appeared extremely pleased to meet the group and was very receptive to their message. As part of the meeting, the group presented one of Robert Glenn Ketchum's photographs of the Allen River.

The G2 Gallery Exhibit - Nature L.A.: Robert Glenn Ketchum

The G2 Gallery 

1503 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

~ presents ~ 

"Nature LA:  Robert Glenn Ketchum"

March 29, 2011 - April 24, 2011

From March 29th to April 24th, The G2 Gallery in Venice is going to exhibit some very interesting aspects of my work, a seldom-viewed embroidery, and 18-panels of a repeating leaf motif that is part of my new experimentation in the digital darkroom.

 

The multi-panel leaf motif pays homage to Andy Warhol's camouflage repeat.  The first complete part of this repeat was originally created as a 6-panel  screen with each panel measuring 6ft tall by 22in wide. When exhibited, it occupies a 6ft x 12ft wall space with over-the-top colored leaves larger than your hands. It is called, 'CHOOSE JOY'.

When the divisions between the panels are removed, the 'CHOOSE JOY' leaf repeat joins at the seam and numerous symmetries become apparent. Subsequent panels play with these symmetries in various ways while always remaining within the repeat of the background leaf motif. The next six panels of repeat, 'NAVIGATING THE DARK WOOD OF ERROR' emphasize hearts and butterflies while losing color and initiating the morphing of leaf groups within the repeat.  

'CONFUSED BY BUTTERFLIES', the third group of six panels, reintroduces color in the leaves, but continues the exploration of their morph. Butterflies are accentuated to an absurd degree, some appearing almost like painted graffiti, and the background color begins to shift. The now 18-panel leaf repeat is still recognizable, but transformed and shifting to a new color spectrum which will be addressed further in the next 6-panels, imagery I am now constructing.

I have NEVER had the opportunity to display all 18 of these panels in a continuous form, so I am grateful to G2 for giving me the space. Please come and see these vibrant new pieces derived from my vast library of landscape photography.   

In a rare public display, G2 will also offer the most beautiful embroidery of all that I have done, 'CAN'T SEE THE TREES FOR THE FOREST'. This is a 2-sided, 3-panel standing screen with some very unique hand-dyed areas of black - they appear, then disappear, depending on the light. You must see this actual embroidery to fully understand the magic of it. 'CAN'T SEE THE TREES FOR THE FOREST' is privately owned and has only been on public display once for my 45-year retrospective at the Amon Carter Museum in Texas. This is a unique opportunity to view an extraordinary embroidery that has had little public exposure. Don't miss this.

 

The G2 Gallery 

1503 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291

~ presents ~ 

"Nature LA:  Robert Glenn Ketchum"

March 29, 2011 - April 24, 2011

The AIPAD Photography Show New York, March 17-20, 2011

It is infrequently that I have the opportunity to exhibit the silk embroideries and loom-weavings that I have been doing in China since the early 1980's because they are fragile and take much transportation and display care. Quite frankly, many curators also have not given them serious consideration yet, or even understand what I am doing, so they are often "excluded" from my photography exhibits. Therefore, I AM VERY EXCITED that my long-time friends and gallery representatives, Peter and Judy Wach, will be displaying several of my newest and most amazing pieces at The AIPAD Photography Show New York in the Park Avenue Armory from March 17-20, 2011. The Wach Gallery is booth #408.

AIPAD is the Association of International Photography Art Dealers, and this event will host more than 70 of the leading fine art galleries from around the world. This is a great opportunity to enjoy New York in the spring and to see an astounding variety of photographic imagery. Judge for yourself where the work I have been doing fits into all of this.

'Eagle's View of Winter Mountains' © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form.

Peter and Judy have always been fans of my early black & white winter images and they will be displaying some of those original prints. It was also those images that were the first to appeal to the Chinese, so it is with great pleasure that we will display the most recent embroidery based on a winter image: "Eagle's View of Winter Mountains".

This 24'x 30', hand stitched, 2-sided, silk embroidery features some very subtle dye work done to the silk threads and a technique we use to represent diminishing distance, wherein the threads detailing the furthest point in the landscape are not full silk threads, but rather, have been sewn with 1/24 strands of unwound silk. The piece took 2-1/2 years to complete. The effect of the stitching in this image gives the appearance of Chinese brush-painting, so put on your glasses and step closer, because it is not!

'YK Delta From 1,500' ' © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form.

The tour-de-force of my AIPAD display is "YK Delta From 1,500", a 4-panel, double-sided, standing screen based on two aerial photographic images made flying over the Yukon-Kuskokwim river delta in Alaska. This loom-weaving was created on a loom with 3,000 lines of weft, the most complex in the world, and one the Chinese built JUST to render this image. The weaving employs select areas of hand-painting and hand-dye, as well as small clusters of gold thread (to represent the sun highlights off of the water), and the incorporation of peacock feathers to bring texture into an area of dry brush. All panels were woven simultaneously and they took 4-1/2 years to complete.

'Turn, Turn, Turn' Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form.

The Wachs will also be displaying on of my new digital pieces, "Turn, Turn, Turn", a 6-foot tall, 32-inch wide panel conceived as an embroidery design, yet also an extraordinarily beautiful photographic print. The edition of this photographic print is only 10 and there are just a few left, so enjoy this before it is gone. And yes, the Chinese are doing it as an embroidery of the same size. Called "Graceful Branch Movement" it will be the tallest freestanding piece they have ever created and perhaps we will have it in next year's AIPAD show. Come see these images while you have the chance.

The Wach Gallery; Booth #408

The AIPAD Photography Show New York

Park Avenue Armory at 67th Street

643 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10065

Thursday, March 17, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 18, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 19, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 20, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

RGK at The Woman's National Democratic Club, MONDAY, March 14, 2011

The Woman's National Democratic Club

If you're in the D.C. area come out to the Woman's National Democratic Club for a reception and lecture on Bristol Bay, Alaska.  I will show some stunning images of southwest Alaska and others will be on display as prints.

The Woman's National Democratic Club

Monday, March 14, 2011

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Reception

7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Lecture

Washington, D.C.

Hope to see you there!

#rgk

#lbp

This is What Climate Change Looks Like, Unfortunately

Photograph © 2011 Robert Glenn Ketchum.
For Display Use Only, No Permission to Reproduce in Any Form.

This is What Climate Change Looks Like, Unfortunately:  Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanos, by Robert Glenn Ketchum

We are still in one of the snowiest, wettest winters ever, which was proceeded by the hottest summer for much of the Earth.  NASA reports that the Earth's surface temperature has  increased steadily since the 1880's, and the last decade has recorded temperatures rising to "the highest levels ever recorded".  For insureres worldwide, it's been the most expensive worldwide, all weather-related.

Personally I view the National Academy of Science (NAS) as very cautious and relatively conservative about their public statements, so I was especially alarmed to read the article I posted May 20th from the LATimes regarding the NAS’s most recent warnings regarding the acceleration of effects from climate change.

Here is some other recent science of note: NASA announced that satellite monitoring indicates Antarctica is rising very slowly now that the weight of glacial ice is melting off of it. This is a geological phenomenon known as 'isostatic rebound' and it is common to small islands in the Arctic, it is just no human has ever experienced it at the scale of the entire south pole... the largest continent on the planet.

In fact, just this week NASA released findings from a NASA-funded satellite study, 'NASA Finds Polar Ice Adding More To Rising Seas', where they concluded that sea level is likely to be "significantly higher" than levels projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007

So, first question being asked: 1) How much ocean will be displaced, as that will affect inundation levels elsewhere in the world. Scientists have begun to research this. 2) The question not yet asked is, if the largest continent on the planet is moving around, and it is connected to all of the plates, don’t you think the plates would move as well. Correspondingly, if that were true, it would seem there would be a lot more big earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions occurring because of Antarctica’s “movement”.

If you were to 'Google' all earthquakes above 5.5, and all volcano eruptions in the last two decades, you will see a considerable upswing in both that begins to occur during the last 20-years, about the same time the ice began to unweight the continent.  I've been tracking the more significant ones here.

I am no scientist, I am just sayin’… this is interesting, and I think it is much bigger than we know….

Read the LATimes article, 'National Academy of Sciences Urges Strong Action to Cut Greenhouse Gasses'

Save Bristol Bay - No Pebble Mine!

"Save Bristol Bay - No Pebble mine!"

Lecture by Robert Glenn Ketchum 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Reception: 6:30 - 7:30; Lecture: 7:30 - 8:30

Woman's National Democratic Club 1526 New Hampshire Avenue NW,  Washington, DC 20036

For 45 years Robert Glenn Ketchum's imagery and books have helped define contemporary color photography while at the same time addressing critical environmental Issues. In 2010, American Photo magazine featured Robert Glenn Ketchum as the 5th in their series of American Master photographers including him with such luminaries as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon. Ketchum is a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Ketchum's distinctive prints are in numerous major museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), the National Museum of American Art (DC), Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art (NY), to name a few.

Ketchum's work in the Tongass rainforest of Alaska is one of his most visible successes and has been acknowledged as helping to pass the most significant timber reform legislation in American history. Ketchum has been working since 1998 to protect Bristol Bay, the most productive wild salmon fishery in North America. Bristol Bay and the habitat that supports it, is located in southwest Alaska. Recognizing his effort, Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar gave Ketchum the "Partners in Conservation Award" in 2010. The threat to Bristol Bay is proposed as the largest open-pit copper and cyanide gold-leachmine in the world. Called "The Pebble Mine", would be situated in the headwaters of the fishery, between two national parks, three national wildlife refuges, and four state designated parks.

#rgk 

#lbp